Like Woody Allen we’d all prefer not to be there when death occurs. But unless we quickly discover Ponce de Leon’s Fountain of Youth, you can be assured you will be there sooner or later
“Dying, I Don’t want to be There When it Happens”.
Woody Allen, when asked for his opinion about death, replied, “I don’t worry about dying, I just don’t want to be there when it happens!” Unfortunately, Allen will be there and so will the rest of us. This week, why I have a personal interest in the end of life. And what can we all do to provide the best of care to loved ones near death?
Years ago I conducted a five year battle to legalize heroin to ease the agony of dying cancer patients. Readers, at that time, sent me funds to help with costs. Finally, when heroin was legalized in 1998, $450,000 was left in the kitty which I donated to the University of Toronto, Faculty of Medicine, to establish the Gifford-Jones Professorship in Pain Control and Palliative Care. For an update of the current situation, I recently interviewed Dr. Jeff Myers, the current Professor of Palliative Care.
