In his fascinating book, Mortally Wounded: Stories of Soul Pain, Death, and Healing, Kearney says there comes a point where the patient has a choice to make. He can accept his impending, certain death, and obtain a measure of peace by so doing. Or he can follow the urgings of his "ego" (for Kearney, the non-reflective, activity-oriented self) and refuse to accept the inevitable. The second choice not only produces unrest but, in many cases, actually increases the patient's physical suffering.