Leading doctor said he won't seek most medical treatments after age 75

If I looked like him, I wouldn't either.

Didn't he announce something similar years back during the ACA fights? Why is it news now?

(Besides, I thought he was close to 75 back then. Fff.)

I don't believe him.

Yeah, he’s the Death Squad guy that the GOP ran with. Let’s see if his kind changes after age 75.

75 seems kind of young to give up. Now 85…..

I love this idea. Is it too young to start at 50?

I'm with him. If I'm 80 years old and get pancreatic cancer, I'm not going to wage some long, drawn-out battle, wracked with pain, just to extend my days a bit. I'm going to down a bottle of wine and a handful of pills and go to sleep. I think too many people go to extraordinary measures to extend their lives by a tiny bit, wasting their last days in extreme pain and putting their families through hell. I'd rather check out with a little more dignity and less pain.

R6 agreed. My grandfather had liver cancer and you should've seen the push for him to undergo frequent painful injections (in the belly) when the chances of working would've been thin and he was 80. Not worth it.

I saw a lot of unnecessary suffering when I worked in healthcare. Countless patients that were barely with it, living in nursing homes, but basically forced into getting treatments like chemo, or dialysis. Not only were families the problem, but the actual healthcare places had social workers that guilt tripped them into getting these EXPENSIVE treatments.

I became very cynical towards healthcare due to seeing cases like that so frequently. Even with the families, a lot of them weren't doing what was best, except what was best for them by transferring assets while they had time. As soon as they found out they needed to do things like wills 5 yrs before death, they were all over ways to extend their lives. It was one big money pit. Nursing homes, hospitals, clinics, families, etc., All sneaking around to figure out the best way to profit off grandma or grandpa. Corporate Social workers almost bragged about all the ways to get expenses covered by insurance and would repeat how they'll die in painful ways if they stop their treatments.

And I'll never do it. I'll never let them do that to me. Like you, I'll do myself in. I'm not exaggerating when I say that 25% of our patients were over 80 and ready to die (if there was no modern medical inventions). Crippled up, with shit/ piss bags, unable to do anything but moan in pain. Nursing homes setting up transport several days a week too make them get ongoing painful treatments. Made me feel sick.

He's 65, now. In ten years, we'll see if he sticks to his current resolve.

R40 75 might not be so young considering 77 is the current average life expectancy. We kind of peaked for extended life for now. It really all comes down to what kind of shape you're in. But he's not wrong if it means say, doing chemo for stage 4 cancer, once you're approaching your 80s.

R9 yeah but that's only if he gets a serious condition needing painful treatments, right? He's not saying you shouldn't live past 75, or should refuse medical care after 75, right? He's saying if he needs treatments that are going to drag on, or be painful, he doesn't want to that. It's really not that crazy. I had a few older relatives make that choice and go right to hospice. Instead of gambling on something with a low success rate, they choose to get pain relief and have help, enjoying the last year of their life.

In my former work life, I had a meeting in DC with Dr Zeke and hot Sam Kass.

The doctor was humble and well-spoken, and Sam was hot. Did II mention hot?

^ Eldergay typos. Sorry.

Depends- some cancer diagnoses I would not do any intervention for- and I would never attempt to predict future important decisions. Silly.