People are afraid of addiction. But that's a myth. People confuse addiction with physical dependency. The appropriate utilization of pain medicine does not cause addiction. The fear of pain or loss of dignity can sometimes lead people to contemplate suicide.
People have fears of dying.
They fear uncontrolled symptoms whether that be pain, nausea, vomiting, shortness of breath, and that's a rational fear. Because many people have an image of some somebody who died an ungood death. But those symptoms are fairly easy to take care of with the interaction of the hospice team, because we can control every symptom. And hopefully, if you take care of those symptoms then the suicidal thoughts aren't present. Of course, doctor assisted suicide is illegal in Utah.