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Thanks to advances in medicine, the lives of the elderly and the infirm can be significantly prolonged. But at what cost? Wrestling with the question "What's the right thing to do for mom or dad?", many of us become unwillingly caught up in the new "death by intensive care" epidemic in which the "care" is often more destructive than the disease. We want to do the best thing, but are overwhelmed with the staggering choices we face.
Geriatrician Dennis McCullough spent his life helping families to cope with their parents' aging and eventual final passage, experiences he too faced with his own mother. In this comforting and much-needed book, he recommends a new approach: Slow Medicine. Shaped by common sense and kindness, grounded in traditional medicine yet receptive to alternative therapies, Slow Medicine is a measured treatment of "less is more" that improves the quality of patients' extended late lives without bankrupting their families financially or emotionally. Expensive state-of-the-art medical interventions do not necessarily deliver superior outcomes, Dr. McCullough argues. Gentle, personal care often yields better results, not only for elders in late life, but for the families who love them. IN REMEMBERENCE
Dennis McCullough, MD died suddenly in Bar Harbor, Maine on June 3, 2016. His values and beliefs about what mattered most to patients will be a lasting message for us all. |
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