Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: absolute

  • End-of-life care and contingent vs. non-contingent duties

    Ronald W. PiesBoston, Massachusetts, United States Introduction Mr. Joseph B, a 70-year-old widower and retired college professor, is hospitalized in the final stages of metastatic pancreatic carcinoma. His doctors estimate that he has “three or four weeks” to live. The patient is well aware of his prognosis, and, as he puts it, “I have come…