Care must go beyond trying to prolong life

PALLIATIVE care, which alleviates the symptoms of disease, usually in terminally ill patients, is the Cinderella of the health care system. For understandable and commendable reasons, modern hi-tech medicine has focused on curing disease, virtually regardless of cost.

But sometimes this well-intentioned effort ignores the needs of the terminally ill and their families in the final stages of life. There comes a point when, as well as working to prolong life, it is just as important to prepare for death in a dignifi...