I cannot count the number of times fellow physicians have told me, in words that vary only slightly: "Promise me that if you find me like this you'll kill me." They mean it. What it buys is misery we would not inflict on a terrorist. All of this occurs in the intensive care unit at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars a day.
The patient will be cut open, perforated with tubes, hooked up to machines, and assaulted with drugs. That's when doctors bring the cutting edge of technology to bear on a grievously ill person near the end of life. They want to be sure, when the time comes, that no heroic measures will happen – that they will never experience, during their last moments on earth, someone breaking their ribs in an attempt to resuscitate them with CPR (that's what happens if CPR is done right).Īlmost all medical professionals have seen what we call "futile care" being performed on people. They've talked about this with their families. And they know enough about death to know what all people fear most: dying in pain, and dying alone. But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits. Of course, doctors don't want to die they want to live. They know exactly what is going to happen, they know the choices, and they generally have access to any sort of medical care they could want. For all the time they spend fending off the deaths of others, they tend to be fairly serene when faced with death themselves. What's unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared to most Americans, but how little. It's not a frequent topic of discussion, but doctors die, too. He received no chemotherapy, radiation, or surgical treatment. He focused on spending time with his family and feeling as good as possible. He went home the next day, closed his practice, and never set foot in a hospital again. He had even invented a new procedure for this exact cancer that could triple a patient's five-year-survival odds – from five per cent to 15% – albeit with a poor quality of life. This surgeon was one of the best in the country. He asked a surgeon to explore the area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. Odorless, tasteless, water soluble, and without antidote, 1080 blocks cellular metabolism, leading to a quick yet painful death.Y ears ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopaedist and a mentor of mine, found a lump in his stomach. Compound 1080 (ingested or inhaled) As an animal poison, compound 1080 proved a little too effective: The bodies of creatures killed with 1080 remain poisonous for up to a year. You remain conscious – and in excruciating pain – until you slip into a coma and expire.ġ0. Amatoxin (ingested) Derived from the death cap family of mushrooms, amatoxin destroys your liver and kidneys over several days. Strychnine (ingested or inhaled) A common pesticide, strychnine isn’t as toxic as other poisons on our list, but it gets style points for causing one of the most horrific deaths of all: Every muscle in your body spasms violently until you die from exhaustion.ĩ. However, inhaled mercury vapor (the metal starts turning to a gas at room temp) attacks the brain and lungs, shutting down the central nervous system.Ĩ. Mercury (inhaled) Low levels of mercury are not especially toxic to adults.
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