being immortal (Book Review Sample)

‘Being mortal’ by Gawande Atul Name Institution SUMMARY OF THE BOOK Published in 2014, “Being mortal: illness, medicine and what matter in the end”, is an authoritative book written by Gawande Atul. The author is a renowned surgeon and journalist. His book covers aging and death in the modern society. In his book, Atul echoes the fact that every person irrespective of age, wealth and color will die. This might happen at a young age or after the decline and debility for a long period. According to the Author, the average American, spend more than one year disabled and confined in a nursing home. However, it is unfortunate the health system habitually offers little help. He states “The waning days of our lives are given over to treatments that addle our brains and sap our bodies for a sliver’s chance of benefit. They are spent in institutions—nursing homes and intensive care units—where regimented, anonymous routines cut us off from all the things that matter to us in life. Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm we inflict on people and denied them the basic comforts they most need (Gawande, 2014).” This statement affirms that Atul intention is to create awareness about the fact that modern medicine cannot fix the aging and death tragedy. Thus, it is high time we find other approaches of dealing with the old age and fatality reality. Atul’s book comprises of eight chapters that traces the journey from independence to demise. The subsequent paragraphs analyses the book covering the major themes. THEMES/ CONCEPTS Family The book is grounded on a number of themes or concepts that revolves around the aging and death. Family is a key concept in the life of elderly. Notable, at old age most people are weak and unable to deliver. Due to health conditions, the elderly require some help. Thus, family plays a very significant role of attending to elderly unable to live alone. According to Gawande, “Your chances of avoiding the nursing home are directly related to the number of children you have” (Gawande, 2014). Research further affirms that at least a daughter is paramount to the help an elderly receive. However, Gawande affirms that in the modern society women work hard to support their families. Thus, they are left with limited time for their elderly parents or relatives. Since early 1980s when most women joined the job market, the number of facilities proving “assisted living “services increased.  Patterns of decline According to Gawande, there are three patterns of decline attached to the elderly. The first is attributed to fatal diseases including cancer. In 2002, 61% of elderly deaths in USA were attributed to heart diseases, stroke and cancer (Yelena et al., 2005). Treatment for such diseases usually contains life-threatening phase for weeks, month or even years. However, eventually the body is plagued and fairly, death takes effect quickly. This pattern related to Atmaram Gawande experience discussed in chapter 7. In this chapter, Gawande affirms that ending is very critical quoting his father long battle with cancer. At seventy-six years, Atmaram Gawande survived spine surgery and for six weeks he was subjected to radiation. Instead, the condition deteriorated characterized by loss of appetite, nausea and fatigue (Gawande, 2014). Unfortunately, cancer cells did not disappear, instead the disability increased. At some point he was unable to walk. The sudden changes of events were worrying as evidenced in Atmaram statement, “I’m so scared. I’m becoming paralyzed. I can’t do this. I don’t want this. I don’t want to go through this. I want to die rather than go through this.” The second pattern features recurrent diseases. Emphysema is example of treatable diseases characterized by recurring episodes of relapses. This weakens the body till it cannot resist minor stresses. According to Gawande, frailty is the third pattern, which has no any fatal disease. He describes it as, “one too many joints are damaged, one too many arteries calcify. There are no more backups (Gawande, 2014).” Providers In chapter 6 titled ‘letting go’ the author affirms that most people die after a long period of medical struggle from unstoppable condition. This relates to the major reason why treatment burden continues even without positive any outcome. This is simply because people are not willing to give up. Thus, people have powerful biologic crucial to survive no matter what it take. However, physicians do not inform the patient the reality about the condition. As Gawande says, “Most are reluctant to give a specific prognosis, even when pressed. More than 40 percent of oncologists admit to offering treatments that they believe are unlikely to work (Gawande, 20124).” The author admitted that he could not inform Sara of her deadly condition, typhoid and lung cancer. Further, it is impossible for a doctor to declare that he cannot do anything more, since they can always do something including killing the pain. However, in some cases, patients’ survive longer than projected. The author believes that “we have failed to prepare for the outcome that’s vastly more probable…. We’ve built our medical system and culture around the long tail. We’ve created a multitrillion-dollar edifice for dispensing the medical equivalent of lottery tickets (Gawande, 2014).” This clearly affirms chronic illness does not necessarily translate to death. Thus, proper treatment is recommendable. Further, palliative care works best when suffering outshines benefits of treatment (Yelena et al., 2005). The concept of “assisted suicide” is at the core of health care. According to the authors, the practice of ‘physician-assisted dying’ is legalized in five states allowing physicians to prescribe barbiturates dose to a dying patient. Ideally, a barbiturate is a lethal dose that affects the nervous system aiming at quickening death in a more peaceful way. This is a touching part of the book. He affirms that it is human nature to sympathize with patients suffering from deteriorating condition. However, the main worry is that the medical practice may heavily depend on assisted suicide. Further, the chance of replacing assisted dying with hospice and palliative care is another major concern. The author argument is based on the Netherlands experience characterized by an increase in number of Dutch people seeking physician-assisted dying. This is a show of failure. Euthanasia is usually administered by physicians rather than oral ingestion. The author believes that assisted suicide involves oral ingestion. From a broader perspective, the idea of assisted suicide is unethical since it goes against the role of doctors to improve life of patients. Thus, the discussion about assisted suicide is not only questionable but also confusing. In the five states, including Oregon, Washington, Vermont, Montana, and New Mexico, assisted suicide is considered legal. However, it displaces the impact of an effective hospice and palliative care. Further, assisted suicide concept i...