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1 - The Conundrum

How Much Medical Care Is ‘Enough’?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2022

Barbara A. Reich
Affiliation:
Western New England University School of Law
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Summary

Most people want to live long and they want to live well. Quantity of life is experienced through the lens of quality – surviving is not enough without thriving. And the whole idea of quality only exists within the broader reality of the scarcity and uncertainty that is inherent in life. We can acknowledge this truth without allowing it to paralyze us. We can live with the knowledge that life is finite and that its end – in both timing and circumstances – is uncertain. Still, living in constant fear of illness and death can wreck an otherwise good span of years.

Type
Chapter
Information
Intimations of Mortality
Medical Decision-Making at the End of Life
, pp. 1 - 16
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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  • The Conundrum
  • Barbara A. Reich
  • Book: Intimations of Mortality
  • Online publication: 10 March 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762595.002
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  • The Conundrum
  • Barbara A. Reich
  • Book: Intimations of Mortality
  • Online publication: 10 March 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762595.002
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • The Conundrum
  • Barbara A. Reich
  • Book: Intimations of Mortality
  • Online publication: 10 March 2022
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108762595.002
Available formats
×