A better way of death with writer Katy Butler

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Guest:  Katy Butler

Across the country, millions of adult children are caring for their fragile, sick parents. Should doctors treat a loved one with Alzheimer’s or is chemotherapy that might add just months to an ailing parent’s life worth consideration? These are among the issues health writer KATY BUTLER faced when, despite family wishes, doctors inserted a pacemaker into her father who was suffering from advanced dementia. The same questions were revisited some years later when her 84-year old mother refused open heart surgery. Butler has written a new book, Knocking on Heaven’s Door, in which she intertwines her family’s story with observations about how our health system deals with dying patients. She also explores how U.S. policies regarding terminally-ill patients differ from those of other countries and what individuals can do to assure their loved ones a good death.  Butler joins guest host Tracey Matisak in this hour of Radio Times.

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