Tag: aging

Facing Death But Fighting The Aid-In-Dying Movement

  • May 20, 2015
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Stephanie Packer was 29 when she found out she has a terminal lung disease. It’s the same age as Brittany Maynard, who last year was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. Maynard, of Northern California, opted to end her life via physician-assisted suicide in Oregon last fall.  Maynard’s quest for control over the end of her life continues to galvanize the “aid-in-dying” movement nationwide, with legislation pending in California and a dozen other states. The Packer family gathers in the kitchen to cook dinner. From left: Jacob, 8; Brian Sr. ; Brian Jr., 11; Savannah, 5; Scarlett, 10; and Stephanie. (Photo by Stephanie O’Neill / KPCC) But unlike Maynard, Packer says physician-assisted suicide will never be an option for her. “Wanting the pain to stop, wanting the humiliating

Developing Standards ‘Of, By, And For’ Older Adults: Reflections On Patricia Gabow’s Narrative Matters Essay

  • May 2, 2015
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Imagine three people: a healthy 30-year-old, a 60-year-old with high blood pressure, diabetes and arthritis, and a 90-year-old who is frail and has dementia advanced to the point where her speech often doesn’t make sense. If I lined them up, any doctor could instantly tell me which was which. Ditto if each broke a bone and I showed the physicians only their x-rays. And if I asked the clinicians to predict each patient’s risk of complications and adverse events based on nothing more than the few words above, they would again rapidly and reliably make accurate assessments. Yet, for the most part, our health system lumps these three people into a single “adult” category, an approach that flies in the face of anatomy,

Ask Well: Statins and Your Sex Life

  • April 3, 2015
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The science on statins and sexual function is inconclusive, but it does appear that taking a statin can affect a person’s sex life, in both positive and negative ways.

Varied Routes to Safer Streets

  • January 12, 2015
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Plans to eliminate traffic deaths involve shared responsibilities among drivers, cyclists, pedestrians, traffic enforcers and street designers, all of whom must change behaviors and attitudes.

Of Little Help to Older Knees

  • September 1, 2014
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Middle-aged and older patients are unlikely to benefit in the long term from surgery to repair tears in the meniscus, pads of cartilage in the knee, a new review of studies has found.