Ted Kennedy diagnosed with incurable brain cancer. Sad to say, the most that can be done for him is to extend his life a bit with radiation therapy and chemotherapy. And even there, he's as likely to die from the chemotherapy as from the cancer.
Let's just hope that Ted can get the drugs he needs to go peacefully. That's not a given anymore, because the Department of inJustice has been prosecuting doctors who prescribe "too much" pain killers to terminally ill patients. Can't let a dying man get addicted to morphine, after all. Why, if a dying man got addicted to morphine, he might... die?!
- Badtux the Healthcare Penguin
I personally don't think that Kervorkian should have gone to jail.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see the top criminals in this Administration go to the Hague, though.
I agree with nunya about Kevorkian. Anyone who has seen a terminally ill person has that viewpoint, I think. I watched my father in unthinkable pain with bone cancer and the experience changed everything about me forever.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your assertion about the ludicrous thought that a dying person could get "addicted" to pain meds. Utterly without compassion. When Dad was so sick, I lined up a couple of sources so that we could get him pain meds outside of a doctor's prescription, if necessary. It wasn't, because Dad died very quickly. But yes, we heard lots of noise about "addiction" and I had an argument with one of his doctors about it, right there in the hospital, actually. I swore to myself right there, right then, that my Dad would not hurt because of the cancer if I could do anything to help it.
The nurses, it must be said, were wonderful and far more compassionate.
My Dad was 53.
Too much meds for a dying person ?
ReplyDeleteBeing a criminal for helping a person die with dignity ? Having to give a person " street drugs " when they are in a hospital ? Too much conservative compassion for me ! Thank goodness Penguins ( at least ) understand real compassion . Too bad humans don't .
" What a world , what a world "
PS It should be " Indict , Impeach , Incarcerate " , the Hauge alone is too chancy for
theese scumbags .
w3ski
Laura, I've watched too many of my relatives die of cancer. Pretty much all of them who've died, actually, died of cancer. Which is why it gets me hot under the collar that there are still doctors scared that they will have their licenses yanked by the DEA if they "overprescribe" pain medicines for terminal patients... that is a painful, painful death, and frankly, when it comes my time to die of that death (which I'm sure will come, given how much shit I inhaled while working in oil refineries), I don't know what I'll do.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Somber Penguin
do the old school penguin thing, find yourself a handy ice flow (if there are any left after the next warming wave) and just drift off.
ReplyDeletemyself? i see the old west cliche of riding off into the sunset. . .except that wouldn't take care of the horse. . .
maybe i'll just go into a Denny's and order the suicide slam.
eggs, toast, and a pistol.
I've grappled with those thoughts myself. Genetically speaking, I'm a mongrel: both of my grandfathers died of cancer, as well as my Dad. I have pretty good chances in the Cancer Sweepstakes.
ReplyDeleteAnd I have thought that, should that happen, and I don't like what the doctors are telling me, I will just say Screw It and fuck off to Antigua to spend my final days with my husband, snorkeling and watching sunsets together. A site where we spent wonderful times together in the hot sunshine and turquoise water. Supply me with adequate pain medication and let me die the way that I want to...on my own terms...not some shadow of myself, bald, nauseated, miserable, and still dying.
hell, this is depressing. I have some new photos up of the cats. One is the most embarrassing shot I have taken of Manni Moe yet.