Last Rights: Rescuing the End of Life from the Medical System

By Stephen P. Kiernan

Book Overview

"This country is fairly crowded with doctors, families, and patients-all possessed of good intentions-failing to achieve the simple goal of allowing people to die with dignity and grace."In the 1970s, most Americans died swiftly and brutally: of heart attacks, strokes, cancer, or in accidents. But in the past three decades, medical advances have extended our lives and changed the way we die. In Last Rights , Stephen Kiernan reveals the disconnect between how patients want to live the end of life-pain free, functioning mentally and physically, surrounded by family and friends-and how the medical system continues to treat the dying-with extreme interventions, at immense cost, and with little regard to pain, human comforts, or even the stated wishes of patients and families. Backed with surveys, interviews, and intimate portraits of people from all walks of life, from the dying and their families to the doctors and nurses who care for them, this book will be for our time what Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's books were for a previous generation.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312342241
• ISBN13: 9780312342241
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: St. Martin's Press
• Length: 301 Pages
• Weight: 1.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Last Rights

This is a "Must Read" for everyone! As an R.N with 32 years experience (12 yrs critical care & 7 yrs In-Patient Hospice) it is my privilege to endorse this book. Mr. Kiernan has clearly and accurately documented what is a reality that will ultimately affect every single one of us. In both scope and depth Mr. Kiernan has spoken the truth. He has not embellished, exaggerated or dramatized any detail of his book. Every human being deserves to die in peace (spiritual and emotional) and free from pain. This is a goal which is attainable but I can assure you that your chances of experiencing this are not good in any of today's modern acute care hospitals or nursing homes. (There are always exceptions). Hospice care is the only option and that is primarily because hospice is not a place but a philosophy of care. All physicians can manage the care of an acutely ill person but only a few physicians are qualified to manage your care if you are dying because the vast majority of physicians do not recognize or they refuse to accept that there is a difference. Please read this book. It could be one of the most important things you ever do both for yourself and for those whom you love. Barb Lyons, R.N.

About What We All Know Is Going to Happen

When asked, the overwhelming percentage of people thinking about their own deaths say that they want to die at home, either alone or with family around and without pain. About 1200 people a day make it this way. The other 5300 who die on an average day die in a hospital, surrounded by machines and strangers, and often in pain because the doctors are afraid to give to many drugs to patients where the government might come down on them. My own father reached a point where he was given six months to a year to live. Or he could have an operation. He had the operation. Only afterward were we told that now he had perhaps one to five years. He lived a year and a half, and was in pain every day. The medical profession did not do him a favor. For me this book can be summed up by four sentences on the last page, they reflect my exact hopes for myself when the time comes: 'Dozens of people taught me that same lesson during my research. They did not fear death, but they feared dying badly. They did not want to live forever, but they wanted to live well for as long as possible. They did not want to die one moment too soon, but they did not want to suffer one moment too long.'

Hospice Doc gives a thumbs up

As a hospice medical director I have been greatly moved by this book. All the palliative texts I own cannot compare to the perspective of this book. I am buying copies for my hospice team, nursing home and any wayward physicians who create "problems" for our hospice clients. A must read for everyone, especially medical students in line to deal with this.

A Must Read

A great read for anyone interested in the state of the US healthcare system and its impact on the care of those sufferng from a terminal illness. This book intersperses quantitative data with personal stories and provides the reader with a deeper understanding of the dying process and the options available to individuals living out their last few days, weeks or months.

every one needs to read

Being a hospice nurse for 8 yrs., I may be prejudiced. But I believe all MD's and nurses should read this. I have bought a copy for our hospice, one for our church library and one for an MD friend who I hope will share it with his fellow MDs. Even we in the business have a difficult time convincing the medical community when we try to advocate comfort care for our own patients and family members.