If you knew you were dying of cancer and the last month or so would be particularly nasty and/or you would turn into a veg before you died?
I have had several serious conversations about this recently because I have a sister in that exact situation...a breast cancer relapse that went triple negative and there is 0 chance of survival.
I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I would off myself before I lost control and have been surprised at the number of other people that feel the same way....I see no point in fighting the "heroic" struggle just to end up brain ed and ting on yourself.
So what would you do?
I wouldn't kill myself because, first and foremost, I want to be here on earth with my family as long as there is breath in my body.
Also, I do not believe there is any reason that justifies me killing myself.
I will not put my family and friends through that.
http://g4tv.com/videos/15906/Die-Like-a-Man/
I really do think there's a market for such a service.
Since I believe in no after life and nothing beyond the current state of what I am. I wouldn't kill myself. Since I get one shot and one shot only at this life I'd be willing to hang on as long as I could because stranger has happened and sometimes people recover from the unrecoverable.
Now if I believed in all the god bull and an afterlife I might consider accepting a passage into a new beginning.
...and sorry about your sister friend.
My brother just went through this his wife who had been ill for over 2 yrs but it wasn't cancer. They never gave her a for sure diagnosis just that her kidneys failed and she lost major weight and was very, very week although she was totally alert. Last October the doctor said she was on death's bed and only gave her a few days to live. My brother asked if she was "ready" and she said no and she lived another 7 months until her body simply gave out. Mentally she was still there but her body just couldn't continue. She did get to enjoy seeing her grandchildren a few more times before she passed and said that was precious to her.
The wife and I have talked about this and what we want if we are ever in that position but it is so hard to imagine until you are actually in that situation.
We've got living wills so any issues should be kept to a minimum.
And the last thing my brother said to his wife was...."I'll see you later".
But would it really be "you"? most aggressive cancers attack the brain in the end and by the time the heart stops beating "Elvis has already left the building" so to speak...
I would. I don't want my family to see me laying in a pool of my own and unable to do anything for myself except be in pain. If I have the chance to go out on my terms, I'm going to.
Sorry about your sister. I can't imagine having to go through that with my sister.
I concur.
I might if I had a disease that causes the mind to deteriorate. I wouldn't want my family and friends to remember me that way.
Sorry to hear about your sister. My answer would be no. I just dealt with my mother's passing, sudden of course.
I thought stetch made this thread when I read the le.
By "kill myself" I'm not talking about eating a .44....
Typically in a terminal case Ho e will set up a morphine drip for "pain" and give the patient control of the button (while they still have control)
I know several people that have done it this way and everyone just looks the other way...nobody ever says "suicide"...
I'm pushing the button when it's time...
Is this in your will?
Do you have a "DNR" in your will?
Yeah, I have a living will and have told my family I want my finger on the button when it's time.
I honestly can't say. To take your own life is quite a drastic decision.
Sorry about your sister.
I understand what you are saying.
I always want to hold out for miracles in my life. A turn around in my health when medicine had done all it could to help me is unlikely, but it is not impossible either.
I would hold on to hope and I hope my family would do so also.
I am not at all afraid to die. I know that when I do I am going to Heaven. But I am a fight to the end sort of person and so am in no rush to leave this earth.
And I am very sorry about your sister. My prayers are with you and your family.
I would definitely go out on my own terms. God or no God, after-life or no after-life; I'm not suffering just so my family can cry a few more tears. I'll say my goodbyes, kiss my wife and children, and then take mass amounts of mdma, morphine, heroin, or some other drug I can overdose on through which there is no return.
I can't even pretend that I know what I'd do in this situation until I was actually living it, but I'm fairly certain I would opt for ho e and pain meds over aggressive treatment that had little chance of working.
As someone who had to help take care of a family member with advanced cancer (my grandmother 2 1/2 years ago, and it wasn't pretty), it would be a decision largely for my loved ones. I was sad when my grandmother passed and still miss her in my life, but it was best for all of us that her fight with cancer only lasted about six months. I know that she was miserable during that time, and my aunts, my cousin and I had to completely put our lives on hold to take care of her. Even with home health care and ho e nurses, there still needed to be two of us at her side at all times, dressing wounds, administering medications, and countless other tasks way beyond our depth. I would never want to put my loved ones through that in order to extend my life a couple of months. As much as I love and miss her, the funeral was nowhere near as painful as the weeks spent listening to her struggle for breath.
Maybe if I was a cat...
Sorry to hear about your sister, CC. I wouldn't do it though, as I believe any day above ground is a good day. No way I'd ever end my own consciousness.
I guess it would depend on the pain level.
If it felt like someone was stabbing me in the stomach every 5 minutes, I'd probably want to go ahead and rip the plug out.
if I just simply turn into a vegetable, I've already told everyone around me that I'll leave it up to them.
See...that's the problem
nobody wants to be the bad guy and pull the plug.
For me, it's not about the pain but the indignity of it. I don't want their last memory of me being a glassy eyed stare as they wiped off my ass/nuts while changing my depends. I want to get everybody together, talk about the good times, try to have a few laughs, hugs all around, send everybody home, and then punch out privately while I still have control.
My mother is a saint and their house was the "ho e" house for at least six of my relatives. I have been there and done that for grandparents, aunts, etc. I had one aunt that was totally out of her mind for almost two years before she passed. it. I'm NOT DOING THAT.
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