All Things Considered For terminally ill patients, quality of life is often neglected for the sake of pushing the limit of medical technology. I'm Linda Wertheimer. And I'm Robert Siegel. Advances in medical technology have greatly extended life. But the price of extended survival can be prolonged agony.
Some patients feel suicide is the solution.
There is another alternative. And it aims to provide maximum comfort at the end of life. In medicine, it describes care that alleviates extreme pain and suffering. The movement toward increasing palliative care has only begun in this country. But in Britain, it's a well-established medical specialty.