Does Physician Assisted Suicide Destroy the Trust between Patient and Doctor?
This is a personal story of Dr. Ken Stevens. “We had been married for 18 years and had 6 children. For three years my wife had been suffering from advancing malignant lymphoma. It had spread from the lymph nodes to her brain, to her spinal cord and to her bones. She had received extensive chemotherapy and radiation treatments. She required considerable pain medication, antidepressants and other supportive measures. In late May, 1982, we met again with her physician to review what more could be done. It was obvious that there was no further treatment that would halt the cancer’s progressive nature. As we were about to leave his office, her physician said, “Well, I could write a prescription for an ‘extra large’ amount of pain medication for you.” He did not say it was for her to hasten her death, but she and I both felt his intended message. We knew that was the intent of his words. We declined the prescription. As I helped her to our car, she said, “He wants me to kill myself.” She and
