Most patients are so near death by the time they stop aggressive care and enter hospice that they die within a month. But if we believe death is the enemy, then we're in trouble. Turned out, it's one of the most painful, one of the incurable ones. Ten years to travel and watch their two grandsons grow, to see the men they would become, to meet the women they would marry. These conversations are not held very often.
Doctors save people.
A dying patient equates to failure. We know about the living process. In many cases, it's not clear whether treatment will help. Aggressive treatments can cause nausea and pain. CPR can break ribs and puncture lungs.