What is life worth if it has little or no quality? Not much apparently. A survey by the University of Pittsburgh has found that towards the end of their lives most people would trade quantity for quality, that is they would prefer to live less long if they could depart this world in a caring and supported environment.

Palliative care is one of the more confronting areas of medicine for your average westerner. We spend large chunks of our life denying, or at least ignoring our mortality. To visit a dying relative or friend forces the reality of our own mortality upon us. Faced with this confronting situation we may end up spending more time on our own fears than on supporting the person who is dying.

This is possibly the most precious time of a persons life. They can no longer ignore their mortality, they must make decisions that most of us refuse to even consider because they are too confronting, and they are trying to reconcile themselves with the life they have lived, the things that they never achieved and the mistakes they made as much as their successes.

In this situation, where they have prepared themselves and accept that they are about to die we must seriously question our own actions and motives. Are we subjecting them to discomfort or humiliation in an attempt to keep them alive for another week or another month for their benefit or for ours? At this most precious time of a persons life it sometimes takes great courage to put aside your own expectations, beliefs, values and respect the wishes of your friend or loved one.

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