Atul Gawande
Modern medicine often treats aging and dying as problems to defeat, turning the final stage of life into a medical struggle that can override the person's own priorities.
The modern medical system often treats aging and dying as clinical problems to be managed rather than natural, inevitable parts of human life.
Doctors are often trained to keep intervening, even when another treatment or procedure is unlikely to restore the life a patient hopes to preserve.
Having difficult, honest discussions about what a patient is willing to sacrifice and what they find intolerable before a crisis occurs is essential for aligning medical decisions with personal values.