http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/feb/08/how-doctors-choose-die
Years ago, Charlie, a highly respected orthopaedist and a mentor of
mine, found a lump in his stomach. He asked a surgeon to explore the
area, and the diagnosis was pancreatic cancer. This surgeon was one of
the best in the country. He had even invented a new procedure for this
exact cancer that could triple a patient's five-year-survival odds –
from five per cent to 15% – albeit with a poor quality of life. Charlie
was uninterested. He went home the next day, closed his practice, and
never set foot in a hospital again. He focused on spending time with his
family and feeling as good as possible. Several months later, he died at
home. He received no chemotherapy, radiation, or surgical treatment.
Medicare didn't spend much on him.
It's not a frequent topic of discussion, but doctors die, too. And they
don't die like the rest of us. What's unusual about them is not how much
treatm...