An aging physician muses on end-of-life care

As a retired physician who has written a book about end-of-life issues for elderly patients, I have placed myself in an awkward position. According to most guidelines, at age 67, I am elderly. How will I approach the end of my life? Not only do my personal medical concerns career around in the echo chamber of my own mind, but I have the added challenge of trying to follow my own advice regarding end-of-life decision making. And, there are multiple examples of physicians who did not do that. Witness the example of Francis Warren, Harvard’s most famous surgeon of the 20th century, renowned for heroic cancer surgeries and prolonging life at all costs. He committed suicide with a firearm, at age 88, while dwindling from congestive heart failure. Or, consider Desirée Pardi, the hospice care physician with 11 years of breast cancer and eight years of practice, who refused to give up aggressive treatments with little likelihood of a cure, refused hospice care, and died after months of agony at age 41. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: General Medicine Authors: Tags: Physician Palliative Care Source Type: blogs