Quality of life can be more important when faced with an incurable disease

Terminal breast cancer leads woman to pick palliative care, not aggressive therapy

Amy Berman
How Amy Berman decided to live a good life with the time she has left.

… ” Faced with an incurable disease and a prognosis where only 11 to 20 percent survive to five years and there is no statistic for 10-year survival because it so rarely happens, I came to understand that my priority was to seek a “Niagara Falls trajectory” — to feel as well as possible for as long as possible, until I quickly go over the precipice. Quality of life is more important to me than quantity of days, if they are miserable days.

Following a discussion with my oncologist (a conversation that would be reimbursed if you in fact move ahead and change your rules), we initially decided on a palliative regime to slow the cancer’s spread with the least amount of burdensome side effects. We would not impose the most difficult curative treatments on an incurable disease. ” …

Read A nurse with fatal breast cancer says end-of-life discussions saved her life and Terminal breast cancer leads woman to pick palliative care, not aggressive therapy, both posts by Amy Berman, washingtonpost.

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