Comments on: Medical Society of New York Fights Palliative Care Information Act Despite Mounting Evidence http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/ End-of-Life Choice, Palliative Care and Counseling Sun, 29 Jul 2012 05:06:15 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 By: Compassion and Choices » Once Again, Race Matters But How? http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/#comment-383 Compassion and Choices » Once Again, Race Matters But How? Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:59:10 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1105#comment-383 [...] patients with a DNR as to those without one. And this means they received inferior care. Because a steady stream of recent research reveals that dying patients subjected to invasive, aggressive technologies suffer more at the end [...] [...] patients with a DNR as to those without one. And this means they received inferior care. Because a steady stream of recent research reveals that dying patients subjected to invasive, aggressive technologies suffer more at the end [...]

]]> By: Joanne Edmiston http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/#comment-382 Joanne Edmiston Thu, 07 Oct 2010 00:11:19 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1105#comment-382 "Hope" is no substitute for knowledge and technical expertise. It is beyond cruel to promote hope when a prognosis is grim. Better to be upfront , honest, and provide a whole host of options for palliative care to include the right of every human being to die with dignity. My God! This world has become a horrid place in which to die or live!. My concern is the vested reasons and excuses which Governments, Hospitals physicians, oncologists, Pharmaceutical companies, and the health care industry as a whole, employ to keep us alive well past any sense of compassion, suffering, kindness to families and financial ability to pay. It is as if their vested interests, their rights to our votes, tax base, surgical charges, Hospice care, doctor's invoices, charges for Chemotherapy drugs and radiation procedures , all supercede, TAKE PRECEDENCE, over our right to die with some modicum of dignity and relief from pain and suffering. Damn them all for not supporting an individual's right to die in a manner of his/her own choosing. Damn them for believing we must be controlled by them even to the very end. Even into the manner of our own dying. The assaults upon liberty and freedom in this country apparently know no limits.Our humanity has been lost to us as a national ethos as well. Life for the sake of life is no life at all. It is mere existence. We do not sentence our beloved pets to mere existences; because their quality of life, like ours, is precious to us. My love and heart and prayers go out to all who themselves suffer and whose families slowly perish along with the ones they love. May God grant us all peace and respite from the pain and helplessness we feel. “Hope” is no substitute for knowledge and technical expertise. It is beyond cruel to promote hope when a prognosis is grim. Better to be upfront , honest, and provide a whole host of options for palliative care to include the right of every human being to die with dignity. My God! This world has become a horrid place in which to die or live!. My concern is the vested reasons and excuses which Governments, Hospitals physicians, oncologists, Pharmaceutical companies, and the health care industry as a whole, employ to keep us alive well past any sense of compassion, suffering, kindness to families and financial ability to pay. It is as if their vested interests, their rights to our votes, tax base, surgical charges, Hospice care, doctor’s invoices, charges for Chemotherapy drugs and radiation procedures , all supercede, TAKE PRECEDENCE, over our right to die with some modicum of dignity and relief from pain and suffering. Damn them all for not supporting an individual’s right to die in a manner of his/her own choosing. Damn them for believing we must be controlled by them even to the very end. Even into the manner of our own dying. The assaults upon liberty and freedom in this country apparently know no limits.Our humanity has been lost to us as a national ethos as well. Life for the sake of life is no life at all. It is mere existence. We do not sentence our beloved pets to mere existences; because their quality of life, like ours, is precious to us. My love and heart and prayers go out to all who themselves suffer and whose families slowly perish along with the ones they love. May God grant us all peace and respite from the pain and helplessness we feel.

]]> By: Hank Rodgers http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/#comment-381 Hank Rodgers Wed, 06 Oct 2010 21:53:48 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1105#comment-381 The, sad and noble, stories told in even just these few comments should make us wonder how anyone, individual or group, could object to self-determination, at the end of life or before the end. Without both the right and the ability to self-determine both our life and our death choices, life is without meaning, and worth little. However, there are not just the uninformed, but also actual enemies of self-determination out there, both individuals and groups; as reflected by our opponents, and the active proponents of legislation that would criminalize or restrict self-determination. Many of them seem to operate from the position that because they feel that their life does not belong to them, so too we must not be allowed to act as though our life belongs to us, even if we do not share their, essentially anti-life, position. C&C should be more forthright about listing those groups that are, and likely always will be, absolute enemies, because we are certainly not going to change their opinions. Of course we are not asking them to adopt our choices for themselves, but only demanding that we be allowed the same, honorable and compassionate, right. The, sad and noble, stories told in even just these few comments should make us wonder how anyone, individual or group, could object to self-determination, at the end of life or before the end. Without both the right and the ability to self-determine both our life and our death choices, life is without meaning, and worth little.

However, there are not just the uninformed, but also actual enemies of self-determination out there, both individuals and groups; as reflected by our opponents, and the active proponents of legislation that would criminalize or restrict self-determination. Many of them seem to operate from the position that because they feel that their life does not belong to them, so too we must not be allowed to act as though our life belongs to us, even if we do not share their, essentially anti-life, position.

C&C should be more forthright about listing those groups that are, and likely always will be, absolute enemies, because we are certainly not going to change their opinions. Of course we are not asking them to adopt our choices for themselves, but only demanding that we be allowed the same, honorable and compassionate, right.

]]> By: Meredith Francis http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/#comment-380 Meredith Francis Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:39:03 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1105#comment-380 My mother passed away from cancer in the early 1980's. She was diagnosed in August with a cold, then with cancer by September. She was hospitalized in September; as the doctor's told my mother and myself that my mother would be admitted to the hospital for tests. Within a short period of time after admittance, my mother was placed on life support; while doctors explained that life support gave them more time to find the cure for my mother's cancer. I beleived that the doctors were diligently working towards finding a cure - I hoped every moment that the cure for mother's cancer was near. During this time, my mother was reaching the point where she was no longer speaking; while the doctors described that mother would be home for Christmas, and that she wanted the family to spend Christmas together, in Hawaii - an unusual concept since Christmas was always enjoyed, by our entire family, in our own home, with family & friends and all that we enjoyed for a lifetime. Hawaii was an unusual concept since my mother had declined to travel for many, many years; the idea did not fit our family's history. Before November, my mother was no longer responding to our voices, nor to our touch; nor was she opening her eyes, nor responding in any way. The doctors never expressed that mother was passing - they had never expressed that she was passing before she went on life support, nor as she slipped further away while unable to respond. My mother and I never had the opportunity to realize that it was time to say goodbye; to express cherished thanks for the life we shared; and without each of us knowing what in fact was occurring in my mother's life. My mother passed February 13th, 1983 when life support was removed, I learned that her life was ending as I arrived for my daily visit with my mother. I hugged her and kissed her, and did not know if mother was aware that I was there, she never regained consciousness after those months of life uspport. The doctors had taken alot away from us as a family, by not being forthright with the terminal illness and imminent death of my mother. I was in my early 30's, my children were 3 years old and 5 years old. None of us knew it was time to say goodbye, nothing was ever explained to me. My mother passed away from cancer in the early 1980′s. She was diagnosed in August with a cold, then with cancer by September. She was hospitalized in September; as the doctor’s told my mother and myself that my mother would be admitted to the hospital for tests. Within a short period of time after admittance, my mother was placed on life support; while doctors explained that life support gave them more time to find the cure for my mother’s cancer. I beleived that the doctors were diligently working towards finding a cure – I hoped every moment that the cure for mother’s cancer was near. During this time, my mother was reaching the point where she was no longer speaking; while the doctors described that mother would be home for Christmas, and that she wanted the family to spend Christmas together, in Hawaii – an unusual concept since Christmas was always enjoyed, by our entire family, in our own home, with family & friends and all that we enjoyed for a lifetime. Hawaii was an unusual concept since my mother had declined to travel for many, many years; the idea did not fit our family’s history. Before November, my mother was no longer responding to our voices, nor to our touch; nor was she opening her eyes, nor responding in any way. The doctors never expressed that mother was passing – they had never expressed that she was passing before she went on life support, nor as she slipped further away while unable to respond. My mother and I never had the opportunity to realize that it was time to say goodbye; to express cherished thanks for the life we shared; and without each of us knowing what in fact was occurring in my mother’s life. My mother passed February 13th, 1983 when life support was removed, I learned that her life was ending as I arrived for my daily visit with my mother. I hugged her and kissed her, and did not know if mother was aware that I was there, she never regained consciousness after those months of life uspport. The doctors had taken alot away from us as a family, by not being forthright with the terminal illness and imminent death of my mother. I was in my early 30′s, my children were 3 years old and 5 years old. None of us knew it was time to say goodbye, nothing was ever explained to me.

]]> By: Rolf Burdette http://www.compassionandchoices.org/2010/09/03/medical-society-of-new-york-fights-palliative-care-information-act-despite-mounting-evidence/#comment-379 Rolf Burdette Mon, 06 Sep 2010 18:42:04 +0000 http://blog.compassionandchoices.org/?p=1105#comment-379 I live in Santa Cruz CA, I have been diagnosed with multiple-sclerosis, although little is known about this ailment, I seem to have the primary-progressive type, and there is exploratory work being done on it but it is excruciatingly slow, usually taking 2 years for FDA approval. I fear that at 76 years of age, I will shortly be unable to go to the bathroom anymore, and as my legs are almost useless, I will not be able to access my wheel-chair either. I do not want to live like this, and am hoping you have some suggestions, I would certainly appreciate them!! Thank you for hearing me out, Rolf Burdette 1555 Merrill St #172 Santa Cruz, CA 95062 831 475 6456 rolf@got.net I live in Santa Cruz CA, I have been diagnosed with multiple-sclerosis, although little is known about this ailment, I seem to have the primary-progressive type, and there is exploratory work being done on it but it is excruciatingly slow, usually taking 2 years for FDA approval. I fear that at 76 years of age, I will shortly be unable to go to the bathroom anymore, and as my legs are almost useless, I will not be able to access my wheel-chair either. I do not want to live like this, and am hoping you have some suggestions, I would certainly appreciate them!! Thank you for hearing me out, Rolf Burdette
1555 Merrill St #172
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
831 475 6456
rolf@got.net

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