The recent article in the
New York Times about Lisa Bonchek Adams’ fight with cancer certainly stirred up some emotional
comments. It is no wonder. We all have strong emotions and values about the way
we want to live until we die. Some of us want any and all heroic measures to
keep us alive in a “battle” with a terminal illness. Others want to be
pain-free, allowed to live through the natural course of the illness. For me,
the good thing about media of this sort
is that it spotlights the choices we have in our society. But we do have to
speak up and be heard.
Everyone has some ideas about how they want to live until
they die. Unfortunately, we are not very good about speaking up for ourselves,
even when we are completely lucid. If I am in a car accident, or have a stroke,
or just senile, I better make sure that I have already made it clear to my
loved ones, what kind of life I want before I die. We all have a choice. Every
state now has laws about patient’s rights. We just need to speak up.
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