Being Mortal

hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living, and hospice

Important to Gawande's narrative and anyone who faces sickness, aging, and death

author of the book; plays role as doctor or relative

Atul's father; diagnosed with tumor in spinal cord; Atul chronicles his life from pre-tumor through death in the book

grandmother of Atul's wife; represented one of Gawande's first encounters with aging and mortality

Atul's grandfather in India who lived independently to an old age while being cared for by many members of his family; Atul uses Sitaram as an example of the old way of taking care of the elderly before modern medicine

elderly man who moved in with his daughter as he grew older; later struggled in an assisted living home when caring for him became too much for his daughter

in her 30's and pregnant with her first child when she found out she was going to die of lung cancer; Atul uses her story as an example of how continuing treatments against all odds is not always the best healthcare strategy

The piano teacher of Atul's daughter, Hunter; she had a rare, soft-tissue cancer and eventually went on hospice, but she continued giving piano lessons until the end of her life because it gave her purpose

Nursing homes were not created to assist the elderly with their dependency on others or to provide a better option than poorhouses; they were created to clear out hospital beds

Assisted living arose from the need for an alternative to nursing homes that could give patients more independence and control over their lives

At the end of their lives, most people want more than to merely survive, which is where medical institutions, nursing homes, and assisted living can fall flat

People need to ask themselves what would make life worth living when they are ill, old, frail, or dependent on others for daily care

people who have the end of life discussion can alleviate the burden and confusion felt by themselves, their families, and their doctors when death is eminent, and it can contribute to a better quality of life

When facing death, people need to determine how far they are willing to go with treatment to extend life that could, ultimately, come at the cost of their quality of life

Nursing homes and assisted living are often devised more for the benefit or patients' children rather than patients themselves, and the children are often the decision makers for patients at the end of their lives

Autonomy is a crucial human need that is often forgotten or ignored as people near death

hospice care does not mean surrendering to death, but ca instead be a way for patients to improve their quality of life

Doctors often struggle with speaking to their patients about the realities of their health and the potential outcomes of treatment

Doctors and society have the opportunity to alter the perception of illness, aging, and death; with this change in perception, they can transform the institutions, culture and conversations to ultimately improve the end of people's lives