Here is one:
To the Editor:
Re “Weighing the Medical Costs of End-of-Life Care (“Months to Live” series, front page, Dec. 23):
How refreshing to read an article challenging the conventional wisdom that the money our society spends on aggressive medical end-of-life care is wasted. But how chilling to see it portrayed as a problem that when death is imminent, “it may be the patients and families who cannot let go.”
The conventional claim that “the bigger challenge may be changing the ”˜we’re not going to let you die’ culture at places like U.C.L.A.” overlooks the fact that this culture accords with the rational wishes of patients who want to extend their lives as long as possible.
Maybe the bigger challenge is changing the culture that tells us to “chip away” at these patients until they agree to bow out gracefully.
Felicia Nimue Ackerman
Providence, R.I.