The most teling line of this story is:

"I was quite surprised by the results," said lead author Dr. Hans-Peter Brunner-La Rocca, of University Hospital Basel in Switzerland. "Often we think we know what is best for a patient, but this is often wrong."

Sounds typical for arrogant docs to assume they know what a patient would prefer. And they wonder why some patients are non-compliant with their treatment plan?

We all need better 2-way communication, balanced information, and respect for the patient as a partner in medical decisions.

most people do.

Cool. I did not know you had that in WA. Excellent move. I am in favor of euthanasia myself but our government will never accept it. Too much resistance from right wing radical christians who want to tell people how to live their lives. In a country where we have total separation of church and state, it is feasible to promote these laws. Here, not possible....not for a long time. On a state level it is up to the governor I assume.

Yeah, when I first read the headline my first thought was, "Well duh!" Very very very few people want to die. True, living may hurt but most people are afraid to die because that is an uncertainty. So far no one has come back from the dead and stated that dying isn't frightening and does not hurt. When doctors say that some kinds of death are painless that is pretty much a conjecture. There are no post-death patients that can verify that. (Near death experiences don't count. I mean really once-and-for-all dead not clinically dead for a couple minutes.) The decision of whether to die or not does not have a do-over once death has occurred. Once you're dead there is no coming back to this life because you changed your mind. Most people find the combination of uncertainty and finality too frightening and decide to hang on until the choice is no longer theirs.

I admit that I had to Google "allopath" to help me figure out just what the hell you were talking about. So in other words, you would opt for the guy waving a quartz crystal over your head or prescribing herbs and berries rather than the surgeon with years of experience to cure your heart condition. Got it.

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I get your point. I call it the medical conveyor belt. Once you get on it, you are up for grab for a variety of specialties and they like to bounce you around and spread the wealth. If you are young, somewhat healthy and have medical insurance, you have options in terms of fixing certain problems which may increase your longevity or quality of life without making you worst. When you are in the winter of your life, you may be wise to self medicate....BC powder only ..stay thin, watch your blood sugar, your blood pressure. Walk, exercise and eat veggies and fruits....and stay away from the medical community. My opinion. I am in charge of my life and no one would dare mess with me. Funny thing, I have been part of it for decades in various functions. I know what I have seen and it is not for me. I'll die first.....my life, my choice. I am contemplating a tat of the DNR sign on my chest. They never look at charts....when somebody drops...they react. Bad deal.

guy waving a quartz crystal over your head or prescribing herbs and berries rather than the surgeon with years of experience to cure your heart condition.

You've been brainwashed to believe those criminals are the only ones who know anything and that the alternative to them is New Age nonsense.

Really it's not so much a matter of brainwashing as it is oppression by the AMA of any competition. If no other system of medicine is allowed to practice, only one system is recognized.

But let me ask you this. Have you noticed how when we Baby Boomers refused to turn our backs on nutrition, acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbs, allopathic medicine began to try to co-op alternative medicine? I'm in my late 50s and I remember when doctors derided the "silly belief" that diet had anything whatsoever to do with health. The AMA forbid any doctor to promote such a belief, just like at one point they forbid any doctor to wash their hands between patients.

The fact that you had to look up the word "allopath" shows just how vulnerable you are to those monsters.

Allopaths have nearly killed me 3 times. I'm talking staring death in the face, and in each case it was 100% their fault and 100% due to arrogance. In each case they refused to listen to me, because I was just the ignorant patient and I didn't fit their Merck Manual bible. In each case, I turned out to be right -- almost DEAD right. In each case the result was emergency surgery and loss of or damage to major organs.

Believe what you want to believe, and God help you. But if you think any allopath cares whether you live or die, you are a fool.

And by the way... those berries you sneer about?

Four tumors in the lower lobe of my left lung, the pulmonary oncologist nearly dancing as he wrote out his plan for the slash-and-burn protocol that would make a few payments on his Mercedes. My massage therapist reassuring me by telling me how her brother had chemo and one lung removed and he lived and can even hold a job. Peter Jennings and Dana Reeves dying of lung cancer within weeks of my diagnosis.

I went for the "berries" and homeopathy. Today, 10 years later, zero tumors. No chemo, no surgery, no allopathic treatment whatsoever except scans to be sure my tumors were really gone.

And you want to know the really interesting part? Since then, when an allopath has taken my medical history and I tell them this, they don't even raise an eyebrow. They know damn well that even lung cancer can be successfully treated with alternative medicine, and probably a good percentage of them would choose it for themselves over slash-and-burn.

Do yourself a favor and educate yourself about those berries, buddy.

Are you in the berries biz?

No. I'm a day trader.

Didn't expect that, did you, Spud?

Most physicians are more concerned with longevity than quality of life. Typical comment from the guy who wanted your mother in law to make it to hundred. A joke ? not really. Glad that lady stood by her guns and made her choice. That's the way it should be. I have seen very old and debilitated patients get a feeding tube as they lived in a nursing home simply because the family was not "ready" to let them go. That should be illegal. There do not care about them...that much....they never see them.....but they want the state to absorb the expenses. These people are in a vegetative state and never get better. It takes them longer to die since they are fed via the tube. These expenses drain the medicare system for no good reason. I would ask the surgeon why did he not refuse to put a feeding tube...his response......somebody else will do it, may as well be me. It paid his bills. There are many situations like this......waste, confusion, ignorance and greed.

I agree with you. You are wise. Why the 6 minutes ? DNR is essentially...hands-off. I would drop these 6 minutes....no one would follow the request anyway. They may pump on your chest for longer than 6 minutes.....time flies during a code.

yes indeed but doctors are usually not good at accepting the inevitable. They like to be in control and tell you what your options are and love to assist you with making up your mind....no always in your favor. People have to be firm with their decisions and know what they will accept and what they will not tolerate. The doctor can just accept our decisions and move on to the next patient. We are in charge of our lives. Doctors are not....keep that in mind.

You'd be surprised.

You must be kidding. Either that or you have never watched someone die a slow, agonizing death.

And if I can't take it with me, I'm not going!

umm dotcom it is rational thinking that has propelled the human species to the top of the food chain. People who dont think rationally usually end up in jail or get themselves and many innocent others killed with them.