Terminal Illness
Terminal illness refers to a human condition that can never be cured and may ultimately lead to death. The most common type of terminal illness is advanced colon cancer. The disease refers to the abnormal growth of the colon cells (Epstein et al., 2016). Presently, the main causes of advanced cancer in patients are unknown. Nevertheless, it is believed to emerge as a result of the lifestyle, food, and mutation of genes responsible for creating the colon cells. The disease’s main characteristic includes increased abdominal pain, loss of weight, and lack of appetite among the affected patients.
The Ethical Dilemma that this Scenario Presents
Every terminal illness usually presents a high level of an ethical dilemma to the caregivers. In this case, the gradual improvement and worsening of the condition often make the physicians have double standards (Gramling et al., 2016). As a result, the doctor will ultimately think of helping the patient recover while at the same time, under pressure to let him die. Therefore, an ideal position should be undertaken to ensure that the best decision is made.
The Best Decision
In this case, the best decision is to uphold the patient’s life through resuscitation. The above decision should be made by providing ideal medication and reassurance of the hopeless patient (Nipp et al., 2017). One of the major reasons why such lives should be preserved is due to human life’s sacred nature. According to God’s commandment, every life is important and should be protected despite the prevailing circumstances. Subsequently, preserving such life is a clear indication of the doctor’s respect for human rights. Finally, it is the role of physicians to work to protect life as much as possible. A professional, failing to resuscitate the patient, will not achieve the above virtues.
References
Epstein, A. S., Prigerson, H. G., O’Reilly, E. M., & Maciejewski, P. K. (2016). Discussions of life expectancy and changes in illness understanding in patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 34(20), 2398-2403.
Gramling, R., Fiscella, K., Xing, G., Hoerger, M., Duberstein, P., Plumb, S., & Epstein, R. M. (2016). Determinants of patient-oncologist prognostic discordance in advanced cancer. JAMA Oncology, 2(11), 1421-1426.
Nipp, R. D., Greer, J. A., El-Jawahri, A., Moran, S. M., Traeger, L., Jacobs, J. M., & Jackson, V. A. (2017). Coping and prognostic awareness in patients with advanced cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 35(22), 2551-2557. Web.