Sunday, April 04, 2010
The struggle against dying
This profile of Desiree Pardi -- a palliative care specialist who went to extraordinary lengths to stay alive despite incurable, metastatic breast cancer -- points out just how difficult it is for individuals to face their own mortality. Even when it was her job, Dr. Pardi was unable to help herself give up, give in, and go in peace.
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I thought the comments on the article in the NY times showed a broad range of reactions to this article. Some seeing hypocrisy, some seeing an individual struggling against illness. It reminds all of us to really get to know our patients better. Thanks for posting this.
ReplyDeleteI agree.
ReplyDeleteSomething jumps out at me when you say getting to "know our patients better." To me, despite all of the efforts to practice medicine with compassion and empathy, the real hard part is helping people through something that we cannot have possibly gone through. Which in this case is dying. I tried thinking, as I was walking with my parents today, how I would react if, say tomorrow, I was faced with a diagnosis of an incurable, terminal illness. I couldn't go further than that. There was no way I could think about what I would do and how I would react. Would I spend my final days trying to carry out some cause? Would I seek out the fellowship, love, and support of my friends? Would I travel? Would I play every piece of music (and listen, too) I had ever wanted to on the violin? Would I write? The point is, I have NO idea what I would do, how I would really react. And that is scary. It's humbling. And it means we can only try harder as doctors. I can support my future patients when they die, but I will only be able to attempt to understand their struggle. We must continue to work. But man, it seems daunting. Happy Easter, everyone.