Doctors and terminally ill patients have always weighed quality of life versus quantity of life when considering treatment.
But it’s a question more of us are facing as science advances and the population ages.
Next week the St. Joe County Public Library will devote its annual One Book One Michiana to the issue.
Should extending a terminally ill patient’s life be their doctor’s only objective? At what point should a patient’s comfort in their final days take precedence over more treatment, even if it means there will be fewer of those days?
How can we be sure we’re keeping our loved ones alive longer for them, and not for us?
In 2014 Boston surgeon and writer Dr. Atul Gawande tackled such heart-wrenching questions with his best-selling book, “Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End.”
Kris Springer, the library’s customer service manager, led the committee that helped select this year’s One Book selection.
Springer says its ideas helped her a year ago as she navigated treatment decisions for her father's bone cancer, as he was caring for her mother who has dementia.
"But he got to the point where he was falling a lot, and the pain from the cancer was getting worse, and my mom still needed help," Springer said. "I had to make decisions about his life very quickly. Part of the time he was able to talk to me and we did it together, and part of the time he was not coherent. You do the best you can."
The library has ordered about 350 copies of the book, which will be available to check out starting Monday, March 18, along with a full schedule of free events to discuss the book and related health care issues.
