Timothy E. Quill, M.D.

Death and Dignity

"For me Dr. Quill is a hero—a physician with a head and a heart." —Betty Rollin, author of Last Wish

This book looks squarely at how patients can make crucial decisions and take charge of the end of their lives. This book is a resource for anyone who fears unnecessary suffering and excessive medical intervention at that point. It helps readers think through and then complete advance directives, and also to take a more active role when they or a family member becomes terminally ill. Through real-life stories and his own experience, Dr. Quill explores what measures a patient can choose to prolong life and how to forgo such measures if they begin to extend a painful death, choosing instead approaches such as comfort care which emphasize quality more than quantity of life. Finally, Dr. Quill speaks out on physician-assisted suicide and why he helped a long-term patient of his, stricken with leukemia, to take her life when her suffering became intolerable. He asks for regulation, rather than denial, knowing that many patients and doctors ofen face this question at times of crisis.

"This book, written from the heart, is compassionate and emphatic. It makes a compelling argument for legalizing physician-assisted suicide." —D. W. Molloy, M.D., New England Journal of Medicine

"This is a work of enormous sensitivity, clarity, and caring. . . . It is essential reading for all those wishing to remain in control of their lives to the end." —Mack Lipkin, Jr., M.D., president, American Academy on Physician and Patient

"Quill's article . . . shocked the world . . . and caused him a great deal of persecution. This book eloquently explains his action and his beliefs." —Ann Waldron, Washington Post

"Quill's perceptive, emphatic exploration will help readers to make informed decisions in tragic situations." —Publishers Weekly

"A bold approach to medicine." —Gary. C. Rummier, Arizona Daily Star