Financing Vs. Life-Prolonging Therapies: A Case Study

I have seen it in my professional life, the feeling of relief when the sick person ‘makes it’ through the present threat of death. When the incident is over and we can breathe again, what condition is your loved one in? If it is not better than before the crisis, do you still tell yourself she will get better soon?
When a person is at the end of life, a good clue that her dying may really be happening is to look at her level of functioning today vs. a month ago, 3 months ago, and 6 months ago. If it is continuing to decline, it may be she really is dying. When it is someone you love you don’t want to see them suffer.
As the illness goes on and the agony of the crises, hospital visits, treatments, body/emotional/mental/spiritual suffering continues, what has been your experience with doctors, hospitals, friends and family? Is
What relative value do physicians place on quality-enhancing v. life-prolonging therapies.
The high price of cancer care is increasingly on the minds of patients, physicians, and US taxpayers. Medicare costs are projected to grow at unprecedented levels over the next few decades, consuming 24% of all tax revenue by 2030—up from 11% today
Patient share of costs is increasing, both for Medicare enrollees as well as those who are privately insured, though there is tremendous variation across plans. (JCO Jul 10, .2010:3212-3214; published online on May 24, 2010.)

Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, according to the American Cancer Society, exceeded only by heart disease. Thirty years ago, half of the Americans diagnosed with cancer died from the disease within five years. Today, the five-year survival rate is up to 65 percent, credited to advances in diagnosing cancers at an earlier stage and the development of more effective