DailyDirt: Logan's Run For Octogenarians, Tricenarians... Or Pick An Age?
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
A lot of research goes towards medicines that prolong life in various ways. It's not too hard to agree on some of those efforts, such as trying to find a cure for Ebola or other horrible diseases. But arguably, the quality of life should be considered when drastic medical procedures are about to be performed on patients with terminal illnesses. Not too many people want to be kept alive with machines without regard to the amount of pain and suffering that may accompany such a state. Here are just a few links about knowing when death will arrive.- An oncologist publicly states that he hopes to die at age 75. This doctor plans to stop taking any measures to prolong his life after 75, so no antibiotics if he gets sick, no surgeries for serious injuries, no more screenings for preventative medicine.... But maybe we'll see if he changes his mind at 74.9yo or if a grandchild is expected to be born when he's 75.5yo. [url]
- Brittany Maynard has chosen to end her battle with a malignant brain tumor on November 1st, 2014 in Oregon -- to take advantage of that state's Death with Dignity Act. Maynard is 29yo, and her story will help promote a campaign to expand death-with-dignity laws to more states. [url]
- Losing your sense of smell (after age 57 or so) seems to correlate with an increased chance of dying within the next 5 years. This conclusion was based on a study of a little over 3,000 people taking a 3-minute smell test to see if they could recognize common odors, and folks who were deemed "unable to smell" were much more likely to die compared to those who could smell normally or even had only a slight smell impairment. [url]
Filed Under: death, euthanasia, health, immortality, lifespan, medicine, senses, smell, terminal illness
