End-of-life (waste of) care

Absolutely. We wouldn’t have to torture living corpses either

My mother’s late ex-husband received a pacemaker at the age of 91. Why? The last I heard, the death rate among humans was hanging in at 100%; the only questions are how, and when. My husband and I have executed legal documents stating our wishes for palliative care, when the time comes.

Intubated a 92 year old man with metastatic cancer today; he died a few hours later. The tumor was stage 4 at diagnosis in 2004.

No one had ever talked to him or his family about code status (the family said).

As long as the default choice is “full code” we will continue to have these sorts of problems. No where else are doctors and hospitals required to give futile care – why do we not only allow but actually require this in cases where it is inappropriate and cruel?