[A Sip of a Book] Dignity Is Needed Even in Death

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This book depicts the process of a terminal cancer patient doctor preparing for a graceful death. The author, diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer after retiring at the age of 70, candidly reveals his journey to reclaim his true self at the end of life. Having studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics at the University of Oxford, he later pursued a career in medicine and has now returned to a natural life. While his previous work, A Quite Decent Death, which won several literary awards, reflected on life and death, this book sees him switch roles from doctor to patient and reflect on his past life. He anticipates the future of healthcare and shares his views on assisted dignified death. Poet Oh Eun described it as "a brave book arriving at the harbor called hope," and the US magazine Time praised it as "a vivid, witty, and honest memoir."

As I approached the end of life, questions that I once took for granted or ignored?philosophical and scientific questions?suddenly became very important. This book is also a story of my effort to better understand these questions, even if I cannot find definite answers. - From the Prologue

Hope is the most precious medicine that doctors can freely prescribe. Saying there is a 5 percent chance of survival has almost the same effect as saying there is a 95 percent chance of survival. A good doctor will not deny or hide the 95 percent mortality rate corresponding to the 5 percent chance but will emphasize the optimistic 5 percent. This is Pandora's box. No matter how much fear and illness are inside the box, hope always exists within it. Hope only fades at the very last moment.

Hope is not a matter of statistical probability or utility. Hope is a state of mind, and in our brain, the state of mind is also the state of the body. Moreover, our brain is closely connected to the body (especially the heart).

This is not to say that a kind and hopeful attitude cures cancer or grants eternal life. The human mind always tries to explain every event with a single reason, but most diseases are the result of various factors. The presence or absence of hope is one of them. - From My Brain Is Aging

Helping someone to meet a peaceful and dignified death by their own choice is an act of care and love. Those who oppose assisted dignified death argue that even if death involves immense pain, enduring it to the end is a human duty. But I do not know what reward the pain endured as a duty brings to this world. Those who oppose assisted dignified death are evading responsibility for the many pains and sufferings quietly existing in the world. - From Why I Support Assisted Dignified Death

One year has passed since I was diagnosed with cancer. Although a cure is impossible, I belong to the patient group that can receive treatment, and the lives of such patients are controlled by doctors. I feel helpless and my emotions fluctuate according to scan and blood test results. However, considering my age, nothing has changed significantly. Even if I had not had cancer, I am heading toward the end of life.

Accepting the fact that I am approaching death is not easy. Whether I die from cancer or it is cured, I will probably die from dementia. Between the two possibilities, dying from cancer is preferable. If I must die from cancer, and if the dying process will be painful, I hope that by then assisted dignified death will be legalized so that I can choose when, where, and how to die. - From The Past, Present, and Future Exist Together

Wisdom in Death Is Also Needed | Written by Henry Marsh | Translated by Lee Hyun-joo | The Quest | 240 pages | 17,500 KRW

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