Summary

As incomes and economies rise in developing countries, private sector health care is rapidly increasing. Cultures that formerly allowed their dying to die peacefully now have doctors who take extreme measures to save a patient even though there is no hope. Families are given false hope and often lose their life's savings. To counter this, hospice programs are also springing up around the globe. Use of hospice care is also on the upswing in the U.S. with 45% of Americans dying under hospice care which some receive at home.

Atul used palliative care tactics with a patient, Jewel Douglass, whose ovarian cancer had spread dangerously to other organs and lymph nodes. When the tumor blocked her digestive channel, Atul used the three words that palliative specialists had learned to be effective. “I am worried,” he told her. Those three words were a wealth...