The Dying Patient, the Physician, and the Fear of Death

Abstract

Whenever I have been with someone in the final stages of a fatal illness, I have found myself unable to communicate with the dying person as I did before. I have sensed a growing separation that led to uneasiness the moment I entered the room. Reflecting on the loss of communication that begins when someone has no more hope of survival, I realized that I had always thought of the world of the dying as something that nobody could or should violate. Therefore, I expected the dying person to come to me rather than my going to him or her. . . .