Patients tell us stories about their lives, their symptoms and their interpretation of them. As
physicians we try to make sense of the stories, piecing together the fragments that come our …

In the more than 30 years that I have been practicing medicine, the most difficult task for me
has been speaking to the family members of patients whose health is failing. In the 1970s …

In search of a decent death Page 1 Page 24 New Doctor, Winter 1997 In search of a decent
death Thirteen years ago, BERT KEIZER was asked by a patient for 'help at the end'. This is …

I recently helped my father to die. He was an engineer, independent, always on the go and
in charge. He began to deteriorate rapidly from an ill-defined dementing illness, and his …

As a family physician turning 50, I felt drawn into the question of what it would be like to
befriend my own death. Diving into this exploration has led me to understand how much …

For several months I have been trying to tag a greyness that has shaded my doctoring. I was
not burned out but uncovered the desert experience of mind and soul known as acedia …

Death is the destiny we all share, and this will not change. Yet the way we die, which had
remained the same for many generations, has changed drastically in a relatively short time …

A case that came before a recent meeting of a hospital ethics committee was troubling, but
not uncommon. The patient, about 70 years old, had been brought to the emergency room …

In recent years, interest in end-of-life care has increased markedly in the United States.
Americans are immersed in discussions and debates on this topic in magazines and …

After Fred (as we'll call him) was diagnosed with an inoperable tumour the doctors told him
he had perhaps six months to live. A merchant seaman, Fred decided to spend his savings …