Doctors will do anything to keep some patients alive, but they take a different approach when it comes to their own lives — knowing the limits of modern medicine, most would prefer to die peacefully.
RadioLab recently discussed the paradox in a podcast called "The Bitter End." They refer to a 2003 report, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, that asked older physicians about their preferences related to treatment at the end of life. The study was led by Joseph Gallo, currently at Johns Hopkins University.
"Physicians have a clearer understanding of the health states others may only imagine," the study authors wrote, "and may have considered what they would want for themselves in such circumstances."
The chart below, republished from the report, makes it clear that most doctors would prefer to die without medical intervention (indicated by the black bar).
Ken Murray, a professor at USC Medical School, wrote about the subject in a 2011 op-ed originally published at Zócalo Public Square.
"Of course, doctors don't want to die," Murray wrote. "But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits. And they know enough about death to know what all people fear most: dying in pain, and dying alone."
When faced with a terminal illness or old age, medical professionals know what matters most. The may choose to die comfortably at home instead of resorting to aggressive life-prolonging treatment, such as chemotherapy, radiation, CPR, or surgery.
"There will be no heroics," Murray writes about his own end-of-life medical care, "and I will go gentle into that good night."
