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Correspondence
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Volume 349:1777-1779 October 30, 2003 Number 18
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Patients Who Refuse Food and Fluids to Hasten Death

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by Jacobs, S.
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by Ganzini, L.
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To the Editor: The results from the study by Ganzini et al. (July 24 issue)1 were certainly thought provoking. However, it would have been interesting to learn how family members perceived the quality of the deaths of these patients. Physicians and nurses often underestimate the amount of pain that patients report2 and may also underestimate the distress of the dying.

A recent article in the New York Times gave anecdotal evidence that family members may perceive these deaths differently.3 Jane Gross describes the death of her mother in a nursing home after she had refused food and hydration. She reports . . . [Full Text of this Article]



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