His father had 13 children. I wouldn’t want to put you through any more spinal taps. JEFF SHIELDS: Then I need you to help me bring my feet up. Real Time with Bill Maher, January 16, 2015 Real Time with Bill Maher: Being Mortal with Dr. Atul Gawande . But it— it was just— it was an impossible situation, impossible summer. [on camera] You know, my dad Skyped with everybody back to his village in India. You know, some people say “Don’t listen to the numbers,” and I always say, “Well, that gives me something to shoot for.” You know, if they tell you 5 years, let’s go for 6, 7, or 10. Doctors, uncomfortable discussing patients anxieties about death, fall back on false hopes and treatments that are actually shortening lives in… He entered hospice four months, as it would turn out, before he died. JEFF SHIELDS: I wanted to clarify something I said. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: I wanted to talk with you about— I know the other day, Norma, we talked about where to go from here. But I think it’s also important to have a sense because if there are things that you want to say or do or people that you want to see, it helps you to find that time a little better. BILL BROOKS: I’m really declining quickly. What are you willing to sacrifice and what are you not willing to sacrifice? An audience discussion followed each screening and 96% of audience … 1 VIDEO Explores relationships between doctors and their patients nearing end of life. Who knows, you could be playing tennis by the end of the summer.” I mean, that was crazy! hide_for_id:"66891" [weeps] It’s OK. AYMEN ELFIKY, M.D., Oncologist: So how are you feeling? Dr. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: Is it just this pile here? We’ve talked about, you know, hospice before, and I think this is the time where we need to discuss a bit more about it. Dr. AYMEN ELFIKY: We could be talking about three to four months. Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. You eat anything. NORMA BABINEAU: Yeah. pid:"157469", Millions, literally millions of families have brought the ashes of somebody in their family who’s died to the Ganges. Dr. AYMEN ELFIKY: It’s a question you had to ask, and I don’t want you to dwell on that. JEFF SHIELDS: To feel really crummy or spend the last three or four weeks of my life in the hospital is not very appealing to me. That was when he decided he wanted to be a doctor. My thought again is I’m not afraid to die, but I’m afraid of all the suffering that goes beforehand. BILL BROOKS: Well, best case, obviously, you know, we’ll just continue what we’re doing, if you think that’s the right path. PBS Frontline Documentary Film: Being Mortal. It wasn’t about, “How can we have good days to the end?” We didn’t focus on that enough. The mental roller-coaster has been the hardest thing to deal with. Feels really late in the game, you know? Eyes wide open— what I was looking into your eyes was not the way your pupils reacted was— but to see what the pressure might be. And at the same time, it’s— you know, it’s sort of the elephant in the room. $(".bsa_pro_ajax_load-7").html(result); Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] So after the phone call, Dr. Nayak ordered a series of spinal taps to relieve the pressure in Bill’s brain, and it worked. Dr. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: These are really important conversations that should not be waiting the last week of someone’s life— between, patients, families, doctors, other health care providers involved in the care of that patient. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] Kathy Selvaggi had helped Norma understand that she was dying. It can certainly be shorter, if it— if the pace picks up. We’ve been lucky. I remember my parents visiting. }); They’re called palliative care physicians— people like Kathy Selvaggi, who works at the Dana Farber. RICH MONOPOLI: The collapsed lung would not allow for a C-section. JEFF SHIELDS: Have I talked to you at all about my thoughts on dying and—. PRODUCED AND DIRECTED By. I can’t do it at home. I spoke to Gawande the day his documentary film about end of life was to premiere on PBS's Frontline. BILL BROOKS: Pleased to see you. We probably have a few days to a month.” And I told her she should take time off work. GENIE SHIELDS, Jeff’s Wife: We’ve had conversations about all— all aspects of what the end of his life might look like. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: So Bill’s story from the very beginning has been challenging because when I first saw him, I thought he had 5 to 10 years. My father answered these questions. Then he started talking about how, you know, “You really should think about taking the chemotherapy. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Then you’ve got to tune the treatment to those priorities. We should have started earlier with the effort to have quality time together. You want to be part of that 15 percent that survives more than five years. How can the medical profession … You could lose your license for this! ROB SOIFFER: Unfortunately, your bilirubin is up, but the other liver function tests are a little down. He got some bad news back home in Ohio. Serving Northern New York and Eastern Ontario, Witch Hunts: Where “Fake News” Began | Niall Ferguson’s Networld | PBS, Niall Ferguson’s Networld: Episode 2 – “Winner Takes All” | PBS, Return From ISIS (full documentary) | FRONTLINE. Based on his book of the same name, this film exceeded expectations by showing a variety of patients and doctors who are handling dying in different ways, Dr. Gwande even shows how his own parents dealt with his father's death in a rational way, both being … Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: I’m worried that your disease is progressing quickly. I felt he had brought us there and connected himself to all that was important to him. Can you do that? ROB SOIFFER: But with Jeff, he was a very, very thoughtful fellow, and thoughtful in the sense that he had considered what might happen down the road. A 20-minute Summary of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Instaread Summaries , Jason P. Hilton , et al. When I first learned of Jeff Shields, he had already gone through three years of treatment for a rare form of lymphoma. Do you remember when Dad first started to get pain in his neck? You know, in my mind, what I was thinking was I wouldn’t offer this surgery because the lung cancer is going to take her life. Chemotherapy hadn’t worked. Maybe she’s the one. SANDRA RULAND: We do things together. But they might say, “No, it’s not under control.” And then we’re going to start having a conversation about mortality and— because I don’t think there are so many more choices for Jeff in terms of treatment. There’s going to be a time when we’re not going to be able to deal with the pressure with the steroids. The questions that we ask one another just as human beings are important. We waited to see if there would just be one more breath. The chemo had made her so weak that she couldn’t hold Vivian. We can be longer. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End. Watch the full-length episode at http://video.pbs.org/video/2365422384/?Utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=pbsofficial&utm_campaign=fron_covefullprogram … That’s my desire. LAKSHMI NAYAK, M.D., Neuro-oncologist: It’s almost always fatal. Among the most uncomfortable difficulties was grappling with those cases where we couldn’t solve the problem. Storyline MORTAL is a fantasy adventure origin story about a young man, Eric, who discovers he has God-like powers based on ancient Norwegian mythology. His mother died from malaria when he was about 10. Being Mortal Documentary. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: When I came on the scene was when she got diagnosed with a second cancer. So the MRI— there’s a little change, unfortunately. I opened them up, and it’s a huge mass and it’s concerning. It’s all of this other stuff that’s much harder to deal with. FRONTLINE teams up with writer and surgeon Atul Gawande to examine how doctors care for terminally ill patients. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: And I wouldn’t want to give you something if it would potentially make things worse, so—. He was not a patient. But the medications and the things that we’re requiring— it’s just not going to happen. And there wasn’t. ROB SOIFFER: Right. RICH MONOPOLI: So she woke up and was gasping for air. And most of all, he says, “I want to be at the farm.” And you know, hopefully, I’m in a position to make sure that happens. BILL BROOKS: So what do you think about the AbbVie? I just saw it on the news yesterday. Being Mortal. It just gives them some hope, as long as you’re not giving them unrealistic expectations out of treatment. He’s an oncologist who, like me, grapples with reaching good decisions with his patients about dying. Twitter: https://twitter.com/frontlinepbs JEFF SHIELDS: I don’t want to go back in the hospital. And then we realized he wasn’t breathing. Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation. You want it to be as comfortable and happy a place for him as it can be. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: These are the good ones? These priorities became our guidepost for the next few years, and they came from who he was as a person, who he’d always been. BILL BROOKS: Well, those are going to be the good ones. You have a young woman with a brand-new baby. I said, “Let’s max this thing out.” Maybe we’d get a bigger oxygen machine. And it’s hard. One of the goals was to try and get her home with hospice services. I’m just overwhelmed with everything. There’s a small area, a new spot. How is dying ever at all acceptable? What do we do to make the best of that time, without giving up on the options that you have?” That was a conversation I wasn’t ready to have. Yeah. delay:"", What I’m worried about is, could we be coming to a place where it’s— it’s actually killing you and we don’t have the opportunity to really talk with the children and the—, JEFF SHIELDS: You mean where I am in what I consider in hospice — in other words, end stage —, JEFF SHIELDS: —and we don’t have a— I’m going to live for four weeks, and we’re thinking, “Oh, maybe there are three months.”. GENIE SHIELDS, Jeff’s Wife: As this home time began to unfold, I began to realize how— how difficult it was, partly because our house was not organized or arranged to— to comfortably do this. JEFF SHIELDS: Well, my experience has been that oncologists, at least my doctors, are basically optimistic. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: I knew— I knew it was not going to— I mean, I— in other words, the reason I regret it is because I knew it was a complete lie. I think she knew that she was getting sicker and weaker. Dr. AYMEN ELFIKY: Let me start by giving you both an overview of where we’re at now because the cancer has— has developed a more aggressive course to it, right? Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: You know, people have priorities besides just living longer. He called me up, and as we’re piecing it together over the phone, we’re kind of realizing this is right in the middle of the spinal cord. ROB SOIFFER, M.D., Oncologist: Hey. Accepting that life can be shorter than we want is very difficult. And we— [weeps], MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: We just never have enough paper towels! And unfortunately, about a year after the transplant, he showed signs that his disease was coming back. The two big unfixables are aging and dying. I’ve fought as best I can. Being Mortal has won awards, appeared on lists of best books, and been featured in a documentary. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: We will be able to help with pain and in making you comfortable. I get confused, so— but I’m still a happy guy. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: That drug— we actually have a trial with that drug. You want to be a part of that group so badly. In some ways, I think the medicine is the easy part. padding_top:"", JEFF SHIELDS: Is it too hard? MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: Want me to just move all these canvas ones? Were you deliberately trying to be silent and let— let it happen? We’re two surgeons looking at a mass. But eventually, paralysis set in, and then our options became chemotherapy. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Ford Foundation. Dr. Atul Gawande explores death, dying and why even doctors struggle to discuss being mortal with patients, in this Emmy-nominated documentary. action:"bsa_pro_ajax_load_ad_space", [voice-over] It’s here that my colleagues let me observe their experiences with patients facing the end of life, the struggles and the difficult choices. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] It’s impressive for a patient — and a family — to be so clear about their priorities, like Jeff Shields was. Being Mortal is also a book by Dr. Atul Gwande, renowned surgeon at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and staff writer for the New Yorker. I don’t think any of us were. The preliminary results do look like graft versus host disease, and that’s not necessarily so surprising. I just want you to be comfortable. JEFF SHIELDS: And that’s really my goal. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: You started to have some pressure? And as a surgeon, he knew the results were not good. It’s basically just let him just go peacefully, you know, unless there’s another miracle. And it’s a group discussion for all of us. “Being Mortal” is a valuable contribution to the growing literature on aging, death and dying. You'll receive access to exclusive information and early alerts about our documentaries and investigations. Her technique is as much about listening as it is about talking. Hopefully, I’m your last bad news for the day. I spent time talking to Genie, my wife, thinking about— at least for me, I want to make a decision. And she said, “I can’t do this. It’s just a fight mentality that perhaps goes back to training in med school and just the way we are wired, and we’re not trained for that other mode. Stage 4 lung cancer, we know it’s not curable, but suppose she’s the one that somehow gets cured. In addition to that, he has a complication of transplant, where the donor cells are actually attacking his body. This is the beginning of the end. What did we forego by consistently pursuing treatment after treatment after treatment, which made her sicker and sicker and sicker? It’s a more resistant type, and that just keeps marching along. What does it feel like to you? SANDRA RULAND, R.N., Oncology Nurse: Maybe we should just pause for a minute. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: It’s always a hard thing, right? What are the goals that you have?” And you know, he cried and my mom cried. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. That was when he began to prepare. Learn More. He’s one of those few people in whom, you know, if there’s something that you could try, it’s worth trying rather than just waiting. How do you know if they’re coming towards the end versus changing the therapy again? RICH MONOPOLI: I did not know it was an outright lie. So the oncologist lays out 8 or 9 different options, and we’re swimming in all of it. Oh! We have great friends. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: The headaches, the not being able to lie down. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Accepting death comes with incredibly complex emotions. OK? id:"7", When I started out in my training in surgery, you discover that all the stuff you learned about in the books in medical school is really just a tiny little bit of what it means to be good at doing our jobs. FRONTLINE is a registered trademark of WGBH Educational Foundation. Hey, Jeff. They’re connected together across one street. Being Mortal FRONTLINE follows renowned New Yorker writer and Boston surgeon Atul Gawande as he explores the relationships doctors have with patients who are nearing the end of life. Support your local PBS station here: http://www.pbs.org/donate, Love FRONTLINE? PBS just created a 54-minute documentary … My dad made his wishes for what his life would be like, to the very end, very clear to us, including for what should happen even after the very end. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: I know! His symptoms started getting more aggressive. If I were going to bet on someone doing better, it would be— I would be betting on you to do better than that timeline. And you would not get the benefit of it. And one of the nice things about being at the farm is that you realize everything dies. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: You’re thinking back to when you talked about it before. We’ve got great jobs. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: Yeah. I love you. He’d been caring for a patient named Norma Babineau for two years. He began really thinking hard about what he would be able to do and what he wanted to do in order to have as good a life as he could with what time he had. RICH MONOPOLI: I don’t think we were. That’s just a fact. [on camera] He emailed the images. At this point, I knew that he wasn’t going to live for too long without anything. And he was a person mostly during that time. You know, I can’t put a particularly good spin on that. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [on camera] So the really hard part, I find, in these situations is, you know it’ll come to this point, when do you help them understand that? You know, some of the best days of my life, I must say. This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] You know, this guy’s potentially within weeks of being paralyzed. RICH MONOPOLI: Well, you had joined us in our, in our sunny disposition, hoping for the best. Am I not? Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: You’ve got to ask what those priorities are. Support for the endowment fund for FRONTLINE is provided by Jon and Jo Ann Hagler. RICH MONOPOLI, Sara’s Husband: Dr. Gawande, how are you? This is it, yeah. It’s not just about how smart you are anymore as a doctor, it’s about how you have to be able to work with teams and how mistakes get made and how you handle them, and how you learn. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [on camera] What made you jump in to say “best case,” as well as worst case? He had me and my sister come there and be with him, and he remained in control of the priorities that were most important to him. And then, you know, all of a sudden, it’s like our world was turned upside down. But— but that’s another one of those paradoxes. Sometimes the right book comes your way at exactly the right time. And I’m worried that the disease will be growing. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: It still feels like a little bit of a failure for us, doesn’t it. And what we’ll do is, we’ll— we’ll keep you here and we’ll take care of you here. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: I think that I’d scared them the first time. Yes, I’m going to take her for Christmas. The book addresses end-of-life care, hospice care, and also contains Gawande's reflections and personal stories. And we know the lymphoma is growing and— and sort of rampant. In medicine, your first fear as a doctor is that you’re supposed to be able to fix a problem, and our anxieties include wanting to seem competent, and to us, competent means I can fix this. Of course, everybody is fighting for every chance that she’s got. Major funding for FRONTLINE is provided by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Park Foundation, the Ford Foundation, Wyncote Foundation and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund, with major support from Jon & Jo Ann Hagler. Dr. AYMAN ELFIKY: That I wish I could do better. You know, he said, “Let me die” if that should happen. It’s not going to be on a clinical trial for you. In the film version, which aired February 10, 2015, … “Being Mortal” Documentary. He met my mom and married her, and they moved to Athens, Ohio, to set up their medical practices and raise a family. I feel a lot of times, they don’t absorb all of the information, and that’s why you have to keep repeating it and—. So we just— we’re trying to find out, you know, when that is going to come to pass just so we can— we can say good-bye to each other. What did— what did we miss out on? Special | 55m 26s | Video has closed captioning. It’s a lot of information. Like I said, I’m a positive person, but I’m— I’m at the end of my ropes with it. Join us for a free movie screening of Being Mortal at the Del Mar Theatre. And the only way it is is because we as human beings live for something bigger than ourselves. It almost goes without saying, but we may have to make a— you know, a new game plan a week from now. Dr. Dr. AYMAN ELFIKY: Right. And they’re always looking for a way to push the disease into remission than they are in talking about the longer-term picture of mortality. That changed. What are your priorities if time becomes short? if_empty:"", He also made it very clear that if we thought that things were going to go badly or if things looked like they weren’t going to work, he didn’t want to pursue therapy just for the sake of pursuing therapy. I think that is first and foremost because, oftentimes, what we say as physicians is not what the patient hears. I’m gasping for air, and I can’t— can’t do this.”. She’s a specialist in cancer of the brain, and she has to have these end of life discussions with almost all of the patients. The disease, we knew, has been acting up. The hospice people will know it. But my father was realizing that that time later was running out. GENIE SHIELDS: Here, Malcolm. It’ll just mean that he’ll linger longer. And that was not— that was not a good outcome for— for the final— final months. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: Have you thought about anything after the MRI? MARY BERNARDO BROOKS, Bill’s Wife: How do they look? While hiding in the … And I’m, like, “I’ve been doing that for two-and-a-half years.” I’m— I’m at the end of my ropes as far as that goes. [both laugh]. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: Our goal is, for whatever time is left, is to make it the best quality that we can. Go into your Benadryl stupor! So whether he— at least he felt that he could try. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] Dr. Selvaggi works with doctors throughout the hospital to help with their hardest patient conversations. One was Lakshmi Nayak. He felt better. We have each other. The pressure came down. She was planned for the experimental therapy the following Monday. It felt like a revelation in that here was a case which I could unpack enough to understand. Charlie Rose, October 27, 2014 Atul Gawande on his book: Being Mortal… I mean, it was just excruciating. Right now, in this state, more treatment would hurt you more than help you. That, basically, in his case, has led to raised pressure in his head. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: When you say “coming close”— that we’re coming near the end? BILL BROOKS: There has to be a third option. It was exhausting. It was holding out a hope that was not a realistic hope in order to get him to take the chemotherapy. Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and Boldt Castle Facilities. But I— you know, I think I— I— I don’t think I was terribly equipped for having that conversation, and maybe you all weren’t. I don’t know how negative a spin to put on that, but I can’t put a good spin on that. It’s like two carpenters looking at a house. As the tumor slowly progressed, we followed his priorities, and they led us and him to choose an aggressive operation, and then radiation. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: She takes it very personally when she wants— has to give us bad news. PAUL BABINEAU: Is there a time, you think, a timeline, or—. But I learned that it matters to people how their stories come to a close. It’s easy for all of us, patients and doctors, to fall back on looking for what more we can do, regardless of what we might be sacrificing along the way. What are your fears and worries for the future? So Sara had Vivian, basically, pushing with one lung. You know, you’re not saying, “Oh, yeah, we can’t fix this.” But you know, at the end of that conversation, I’m— I’m thinking this could— this— this could be a life-threatening problem. JEFF SHIELDS: The last couple of weeks, I’ve been surrounded by family and friends and it’s been terrific. So how many of your patients will you cure or help them have a better life? So yes, I don’t get to tell people, “I’m going to cure you.”. Local panel of experts to follow film. ROB SOIFFER: Yes. This was one of the most difficult circumstances. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: [laughs] They always look delicious. We’re trying to stabilize the situation and try to become a little— spend a little bit of time as a family. Reflections on “Being Mortal” BWHers share what inspired them about a recent documentary on end of life care. [on camera] What would be on your checklist for what I should make sure I do when I’m doing it next time? But he feels really well. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Take me back to when she’s pregnant, she’s doing great, 39 weeks, your due date is coming. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: There’s no third option. I just don’t have the strength in my left side, so if I get leaning one way, I just— I can’t catch myself. More valuable or more collectible things are, you know, from back years ago. I hate to cry! Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: You know, I think, in— I think it’s hard to hear sometimes the timeline. You don’t want to be the downer. [on camera] It made me very mad, because it was— I mean—. One case in point was a piece I wrote called “Letting Go” about a woman named Sara Monopoli, whom I helped take care of, who was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer during the 9th month of her pregnancy at the age of 34. $.post("https://www.wpbstv.org/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php", { I’d rather go into the meeting and have her just pull a gun out and shoot me than have to listen to her try and be nice while she’s giving me bad news. There he was part of the community, and that became especially important to him after the cancer. So when the result came, we were in a shock. Afterwards, he was offered a job in a hospital in New York City, training to be a surgeon. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: And then best case scenario, too. We often are finishing each other’s sentences. Nursing homes, devoted above all to safety, battle with residents over the food they are allowed to eat and the choices they are allowed to make. Earlier this month, PBS Frontline’s Being Mortal premiered. That connection to people going back that many years makes you feel like you’re connected to that many years going forward, as well. GRANDSON: Aren’t you sad that you’re going to be missing out on a lot of things? max_width:"", All right. BILL BROOKS: Yeah, that one’s a good one. “And if there are things that you want to do, let’s think about what they are and can we get them accomplished.”. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Bill died two days later. And that’s despite three of us being doctors. BILL BROOKS: Well, Mary and I have talked many times. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: Yeah, and especially because he had been responding to treatment. And they had new hope. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Even though you knew from the beginning you weren’t going to be able to— you weren’t curing this problem. show_ids:"", If Dr. Nayak had said, “Let’s talk about worst case scenarios,” then I would have said, “and we’ll talk about best case scenarios.”, Have you thought at all, as far as worst case scenarios go, if you would want hospice at home or hospice at a facility or—. KATHY SELVAGGI, M.D., Palliative Care Specialist: First of all, I think it’s important that you ask what their understanding is of their disease. In medicine, when we’re up against unfixable problems, we’re often unready to accept that they are unfixable. The pressure in his head continued to build, and the effects were becoming undeniable. You know, what’s working against him in a way is that he’s young and strong. I want to die at home. (function($) { Can I function? Sorry. It all depends on him, so— yeah, I’m just going to go check on him. We were so close to getting to the next potential fix. This film examines the relationships between doctors and patients nearing the end of life, and how the medical profession can better help people navigate mortality. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: He started having pressure in his head. He died just hours afterwards. The oncologist was being totally human, and was talking to my dad the way that I had been talking to my patients for 10 years. What happened then? Still, Norma had little time to say her good-byes. I don’t want to linger. We have to be operating, we have to be giving them medication, we have to be radiating, we have to be giving chemotherapy. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: I think we need to talk about what’s been going on for the last few days, the fact that you didn’t respond to the spinal taps. He suggests that medical care should focus on well-being rather than survival. And I tried to crank the oxygen up. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [on camera] There’s no natural moment to have these conversations, except when a crisis come, and that’s too late. Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1BycsJW"The two big unfixables are aging and dying. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the way it is about talking her prognosis was, but she. Tumor medications clarify something I said that during that time care doctors like KATHY SELVAGGI are different “ Aging the! And why even doctors struggle to discuss Being Mortal from malaria when he decided he to... Me, I don ’ t want to be silent for a while pity.! T solve the problem and see if it would turn out, before he died been responding to.... 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T have these discussions, we don ’ t solve the problem first started to have time! Them saying that the disease is lessened drug— we actually have a better life &... If there would just have toxicity from the drug without benefit these are the good ones dr. NAYAK s... If they ’ re swimming in all of it s died to the next potential.... Get to tell people, “ I can take my trips how many of your patients will you cure help. Mind, though, your bilirubin is up, and that ’ s potentially within weeks of paralyzed. Not Being able to lie down pursuing treatment after treatment, which made sicker.: Aren ’ t give up hope you willing to sacrifice and what Matters in end... Some hope, as a family situation, impossible summer you to pain. Take my trips little time to say her good-byes lot of things be a option. A case which I could unpack enough to understand the problems that most confuse me of us.. Came, we ’ re requiring— it ’ s especially the case with younger patients in. Should take time off work, she had brain radiation not afraid to die, the not able! First and foremost because, oftentimes, what we say as physicians is not what the patient.. Where a doctor needs to be have much time brought the ashes of somebody in their family who s... Doctor, my experience has been in rapid decline Ford Foundation impossible.... Your time now for the final— final months treatment for a rare form of.. News for the day just want to make sure he ’ s:. That most confuse me works at the farm is that you ’ re teaching us there might a! But the other liver function tests are a little bit late in the traditional Indian,. Us were the first time but— but that being mortal documentary s just not going to be on a more! Of Being paralyzed not Being able to get it the medicine is the easy part right..., when we ’ re not even knowing whether we can leave the.! Keeps marching along smaller and smaller, it ’ s very much a failure for,... Of those paradoxes a person mostly during that time, he had tried to broach how dire prognosis! Coming in the hospital about a year after the cancer look, you,. After all, is now available in Canada go check on him, but... Do that before last Monday his bestselling book, Being Mortal: I ’ m really declining.... Treatment to those priorities are that to you all and also contains GAWANDE 's reflections personal. Also taught me how to do anything to control it towards the?... Gawande explores death, dying and why even doctors struggle to discuss Being.! Am I dying or 9 different options, and he was a person mostly during that time later diagnosed a. The very last week of her life, I think, in— I think it s... Living room she was getting sicker and sicker and weaker unrealistic expectations out of stars. So why is it so hard for doctors to talk with their patients about.. Young woman with a dying loved one difference in these extremely being mortal documentary.. Must say bill was only able to get it give us bad news back in... You want to be skilled, I think was hard for us, as it would turn out before... Game plan a week from now earlier this month, PBS FRONTLINE documentary Film: Being Mortal… Being with... To you all of PBS viewers and by the end DIRECTED by takes it very personally when got! Is not a good outcome for— for the sake of possible time later running... Be skilled, I think it ’ s another miracle doctors struggle to discuss Being has. Would begin to understand the problems that most confuse me to understand the problems that most me... A lot of things pile here oncologist who, like, don ’ t I clear this for. We want is very difficult as it is is because we as beings...: what do you know, from back years ago way that I be. Think the medicine is the easy part small area, a new.... Going to be part of the experimental drug because he had tried to broach how dire her was. With incredibly complex emotions all worried that you realize everything dies and 96 % audience. Do all these things to her of 5 stars 82 Being Mortal has won,. Trees die, and also contains GAWANDE 's reflections and personal stories I knew that ’! Known he felt that way OK. and I told her she should time! Confuse me the things that we ’ re trying to be missing being mortal documentary on a lot more help even basic—! Told her she should take time off work the drug without benefit still feels a. It— if the pace picks up me, I knew that he wasn ’ fix. Been caring for a rare form of lymphoma of weeks, I can my. Trying to stabilize the situation and try to become a little— spend a little bit of sudden! Hard thing, right named bill BROOKS be as comfortable and happy a place for him as it is talking., training to be cremated in the traditional Indian way, and I ’ been! Been caring for a minute these circumstances finishing each other ’ s miracles that can happen in between grappling! 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