Slow Medicine Lets Elderly Go More Gracefully

Many 'go gently' rather than opting for extreme measures: Dr. Ken Murray

(NEWSER) - You'd think a doctor with, say, a terminal illness or a weak heart would have an inside edge over the rest of us and opt for the most whiz-bang, no-holds-barred treatment available. Just the opposite, writes Ken Murray, MD, in the Zocalo Public Square (as spotted by Andrew Sullivan's blog ). Doctors "don't die like the rest of us," writes Murray. "What’s unusual about them is not how much treatment they get compared to most Americans, but how little." They have seen first-hand the desperate, expensive , usually futile measures taken to save a life, generally because end-of-life wishes were not explicitly spelled out. More»

Those who adapt to stress live longer, writes geriatrics expert

(NEWSER) - Dr. Mark Lachs is an expert on geriatrics, and his oldest patient is 109. Not only is she 109, but she still lives at home—"with all her marbles," he writes—and enjoys chocolate truffles and Budweiser. What's her secret? "Adaptive competence," which Lachs defines as "the ability to bounce back from stress." Not just biological stress but, in his opinion and the opinion of other geriatrics experts, psychological stress as well. More»

Lowering health care costs means cutting unnecessary end-of-life treatment

(NEWSER) - Nobody wants to talk about rationing health care, but “the need to spend less money on the elderly at the end of life is the elephant in the room in the health-reform debate,” Evan Thomas writes in Newsweek. To expand coverage and lower costs, Americans must overcome their urge to extend life at any price, and “learn to contemplate death as more than a scientific challenge to be overcome.” More»

(NEWSER) - Conservative radio hosts are scaring America's seniors with a campaign against an end-of-life counseling proposal in the health care reform bill, the Washington Post reports. Under the proposal doctors would be reimbursed for consulting with elderly patients about what medical interventions they would prefer as the end nears, but opponents portray it as a step towards mandatory euthanasia, even labeling it the "kill Granny" clause. More»

ALS patient explains why he chooses quality of life over quantity

(NEWSER) - Martin Welsh considers himself a lucky man, with a loving family and innumerable friends. “Life has been truly wonderful,” the 55-year-old doctor writes in the Los Angeles Times. But soon, that life will end, and he doesn’t want his doctors to do anything to prolong it. Welsh has ALS, a neurological illness that’s already paralyzed one of his arms and both of his legs, and left him unable to speak. More»