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End of life > Palliative care
“Thou shalt not die in pain”: Treatment decisions at the end of life
Author / Source : Margaret Somerville Published on : Thematic : End of life / Palliative care Studies Temps de lecture : 1 min.
At a certain point, terminally ill patients — or their representatives — will decide not to continue treatment that has a goal of prolonging life, and to change to palliative treatment that has a primary goal of treating pain and suffering. Note: this is a decision to change the nature of the treatment received and not a decision to cease treatment or an informed refusal of treatment. In the past, it was not uncommon for physicians to say to dying patients, “There is nothing more we can do f...