Johns Hopkins Magazine -- September 1997
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SEPTEMBER 1997
CONTENTS

RETURN TO DEATH BE NOT PAINFUL

AUTHOR'S NOTEBOOK

H E A L T H    A N D    M E D I C I N E

Comfort from a
Different Source


"I've been holding hands as they've gone from warm to cold many times," says Matthew Loscalzo, director of the Oncology Center's social work service. He and his staff of six social workers are on call around-the-clock to help oncology patients and their families cope with the emotional anguish that comes with dying.

When dealing with families, Loscalzo says that pragmatic issues often take center stage--like making sense of confusing insurance forms or finding the means to pay mounting hospital bills. Today we're not seeing "the acute deaths that we were so used to seeing 50 years ago," he says. "The impact on the family has changed dramatically. It may sound cold and harsh, but these are things that families have to manage."

Loscalzo, who serves on a national panel on assisted suicide, has found that terminally ill patients--particularly the elderly--can feel a strong obligation to die. They worry about being abandoned, about medical costs and their family's suffering. "They feel they're such a burden to themselves and others," Loscalzo says. He is pleased with the Supreme Court's recent ruling against physician-assisted suicide, describing the ruling as "a good thing for the elderly and for the vulnerable people in the U.S."


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