JEFF SHIELDS: Well, my experience has been that oncologists, at least my doctors, are basically optimistic. Atul Gawande explores death, dying and why even doctors struggle to discuss being mortal with patients, in this Emmy-nominated documentary. It was exhausting. They just got FDA approval for one of their brain tumor medications. So the puzzle is how do you get this out. Find us on the PBS Video App where there are more than 250 FRONTLINE documentaries available for you to watch any time:https://to.pbs.org/FLVideoApp, Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1BycsJW, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/frontlinepbs Were you deliberately trying to be silent and let— let it happen? He’d been caring for a patient named Norma Babineau for two years. We were so close to getting to the next potential fix. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] He’d gotten an MRI. And the only way it is is because we as human beings live for something bigger than ourselves. In addition to that, he has a complication of transplant, where the donor cells are actually attacking his body. But eventually, paralysis set in, and then our options became chemotherapy. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: I wanted to talk with you about— I know the other day, Norma, we talked about where to go from here. BILL BROOKS: Pleased to see you. But anyway, my guess is that it just depends. Dr. AYMAN ELFIKY: It’s very much a failure. Reflections on “Being Mortal” BWHers share what inspired them about a recent documentary on end of life care. I realize that Atul Gawande is becoming a leitmotif of this site, but I love him so much and can’t stop writing about his work. BILL BROOKS: If I die tomorrow, she’s not going to know how to dispose of this properly, to get the most bang for her buck. NORMA BABINEAU: There’s miracles that can happen in between. An audience discussion followed each screening and 96% of audience … But I think it’s also important to have a sense because if there are things that you want to say or do or people that you want to see, it helps you to find that time a little better. 4.1 out of 5 stars 82 MARY BERNARDO BROOKS: He started having pressure in his head. And it’s hard. FRONTLINE presents a post-election special on the lives, fears and hopes of Americans in the chaotic months leading up to the historic presidential contest. How do you talk about death with a dying loved one? Subscribe on YouTube: http://bit.ly/1BycsJW"The two big unfixables are aging and dying. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: So Bill’s story from the very beginning has been challenging because when I first saw him, I thought he had 5 to 10 years. Dr. KATHY SELVAGGI: OK. And I’ll get— why don’t I clear this out for you. I can’t do it at home. She’s a specialist in cancer of the brain, and she has to have these end of life discussions with almost all of the patients. The hospice people will know it. Through eye-opening research and gripping stories of his own patients and family, Gawande reveals the suffering this dynamic has produced. Am I not? It’s a lot of information. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] You know, this guy’s potentially within weeks of being paralyzed. I just was wanting something positive to say. NORMA BABINEAU: Yeah, I think it’s coming close. And— and he was seeing that. NORMA BABINEAU: Yeah. Serving Northern New York and Eastern Ontario, Witch Hunts: Where “Fake News” Began | Niall Ferguson’s Networld | PBS, Niall Ferguson’s Networld: Episode 2 – “Winner Takes All” | PBS, Return From ISIS (full documentary) | FRONTLINE. BILL BROOKS: Well, those are going to be the good ones. And it was an amazing thing. You want to be part of that 15 percent that survives more than five years. We often are finishing each other’s sentences. It’s like two carpenters looking at a house. I feel a lot of times, they don’t absorb all of the information, and that’s why you have to keep repeating it and—. And there wasn’t. Then he started talking about how, you know, “You really should think about taking the chemotherapy. And most of all, he says, “I want to be at the farm.” And you know, hopefully, I’m in a position to make sure that happens. They’re connected together across one street. How do you know if they’re coming towards the end versus changing the therapy again? OK. Let me just tell you this. Dr. Bill’s sister had also died of a brain tumor, and that was what he was worried of the most. [voice-over] I remember sitting in a chair, reading the newspaper, light coming in the window. And she basically was saying no, and we needed to know that. Do you remember when Dad first started to get pain in his neck? You have a young woman with a brand-new baby. I said, “We don’t have much time. So the MRI— there’s a little change, unfortunately. Right now, in this state, more treatment would hurt you more than help you. He went to medical school in India. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: Are you at all worried that he would just have toxicity from the drug without benefit? Web Site Copyright ©1995-2020 WGBH Educational Foundation. And they’re always looking for a way to push the disease into remission than they are in talking about the longer-term picture of mortality. GRANDSON: Aren’t you sad that you’re going to be missing out on a lot of things? BILL BROOKS: It’s a battle. I then pushed. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frontline, FRONTLINE is streaming more than 200 documentaries online, for free, here: http://to.pbs.org/hxRvQP. She died 10 days later. There’s a small area, a new spot. MARY BERNARDO BROOKS, Bill’s Wife: How do they look? That was when he decided he wanted to be a doctor. That’s my desire. My dad and my mom and I had sat in my living room, and I had the conversation, which was, “What are the fears that you have? “Being Mortal” Documentary. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: So we didn’t do that before last Monday. “And if there are things that you want to do, let’s think about what they are and can we get them accomplished.”. Real Time with Bill Maher, January 16, 2015 Real Time with Bill Maher: Being Mortal with Dr. Atul Gawande . And then we realized he wasn’t breathing. He’s one of those few people in whom, you know, if there’s something that you could try, it’s worth trying rather than just waiting. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End is a 2014 non-fiction book by American surgeon Atul Gawande. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: Yes and no. I just saw it on the news yesterday. Dr. AYMAN ELFIKY: Right. Afterwards, he was offered a job in a hospital in New York City, training to be a surgeon. And so therefore, we should do all these things to her. And at the same time, it’s— you know, it’s sort of the elephant in the room. $(".bsa_pro_ajax_load-7").html(result); Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [voice-over] Jeff Shields’s words about his last weeks being his happiest seemed especially profound to me because they were among his last words. I opened them up, and it’s a huge mass and it’s concerning. PBS just created a 54-minute documentary … Sorry. The mental roller-coaster has been the hardest thing to deal with. And yet I didn’t feel I could say that to you all. SUSHILA GAWANDE, Atul’s Mother: He had pain in his shoulder, and he thought that either playing too much tennis or just muscle. A 20-minute Summary of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Instaread Summaries , Jason P. Hilton , et al. I hate to cry! And that’s especially the case with younger patients, and that is where a doctor needs to be skilled, I think. It’s not where we wanted to be. RICH MONOPOLI: I did not know it was an outright lie. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: You’re thinking back to when you talked about it before. And so, you know, of course, you have your pity party. And I’m worried that the disease will be growing. It’s not super-large, but it’s there. I spoke to Gawande the day his documentary film about end of life was to premiere on PBS's Frontline. Dr. LAKSHMI NAYAK: But I’ll definitely look into that. In medicine, when we’re up against unfixable problems, we’re often unready to accept that they are unfixable. Dr. ATUL GAWANDE: [on camera] So the really hard part, I find, in these situations is, you know it’ll come to this point, when do you help them understand that? I’d rather go into the meeting and have her just pull a gun out and shoot me than have to listen to her try and be nice while she’s giving me bad news. This was one of the most difficult circumstances. RICH MONOPOLI: The collapsed lung would not allow for a C-section. 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