Smart Talk: What you need to know about managing death

What to look for on Smart Talk Monday, November 4, 2013:

Millions of people die in this country unexpectedly or can not be cured of an illness or medical condition. Unfortunately, in many cases, those individuals hadn’t planned or made their wishes known to their families about the level of treatment they wanted from doctors in a life threatening situation, finances or even burials.

For many planning isn’t an option because they don’t talk about death. There’s some irony because in a society that witnesses people dying often, although in a fictional setting on TV or in movies, it is a topic that is almost taboo in some families.

Still others are confronted with circumstances that are difficult to plan for — a family member who has a terminal illness or is in tremendous pain. Sometimes that person wants his or her life to end. Today, doctors don’t always continue searching for a cure or prolonging life when death is inevitable.

We’ll discuss all those topics on Monday’s program. Dr. Jim Hoefler is a political science professor at Dickinson College and the author of two books that focus on end-of-life issues, including the 1998 book Managing Death.

Dr. Hoefler will appear on Monday’s Smart Talk to discuss the medical, legal, ethical, and clinical issues related to end-of-life decisions.

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