Locations:
SearchA doctor and a patient’s daughter confront decisions on dying
By Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS
Advertisement
Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services. Policy
The phone call came when these types of calls tend to come — late on a Friday afternoon at the tail end of a brutal Cleveland winter. I picked up the handset as I glanced outside my office windows at the accelerating snowfall, wondering whether I should leave work early.
It was the daughter of a patient with a chronic form of leukemia whom I had been following for 10 years . . .
“Dad’s been admitted to the intensive care unit.” She was calling from her mobile phone as she walked through the parking garage of a small hospital south of ours. “I’m on my way to see him. He came to the hospital because he was short of breath, and now they have him on a breathing machine. It all happened so fast.”
Read the New York Times column by Dr. Sekeres.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Palliative and Supportive Care Teams offer comprehensive care to improve the lives of patients facing cancer
Newer medications pivotal for improving gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with cancer
Helping patients with cancer struggling with depression, anxiety and other mental health issues
Majority of 1,000 patients seen in 2022 discharged home
Identifying the underlying cause key to successful treatment
Patient resources promote healthy living, management of late and long-term side effects
Research and clinical experience indicate that hyperthermia boosts the efficacy of radiotherapy
Reducing uncollectible revenue, financial burden