Letting Go: What Should Medicine Do When it Can’t Save Your Life? (From The New Yorker)

Synopsis:

This recent article in the New Yorker by Atul Gawande has generated a lot of interest and response.  It is well worth the read and is both informational and heartfelt.  Follow the links not only to the New Yorker article but also to the wonderful follow up and responses on the Geripal Blog.

“Sara Thomas Monopoli was pregnant with her first child when her doctors learned that she was going to die. It started with a cough and a pain in her back. Then a chest X-ray showed that her left lung had collapsed, and her chest was filled with fluid. A sample of the fluid was drawn off with a long needle and sent for testing. Instead of an infection, as everyone had expected, it was lung cancer…”

Source:

The New Yorker Magazine

Vol/Page/Date:

August, 2010

Resource Type:

Webpage

Periodical or Print Media

Author/Source:

Atul Gawande