How Doctors Die by Ken Murray

More Medicine = More Pain

"True happiness is... to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future." - Lucius Annaeus Seneca
Rather than being the one who will do anything to live longer, it is better to enjoy what you already have.
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Ken Murray, the author of How Doctors Die, sends a message to his readers to dissuade them from being advocates of extensive medical care. Through the use of several anecdotes, Murray shows how medical care is futile when death is looming and explains the reasoning behind why suffering patients request medical treatments. Though the treatments may marginally prolong a patient's life, they do not rid the patient of his/her suffering, according to Murray. In contrast to the typical patient, a doctor would elect to have little or no medical treatments. Murray claims that doctors often abstain from extensive medical care not only because of its costs, but also because they understand the capabilities and limitations of modern medicine. Rather than spending a lot of time in hospitals, doctors prefer enjoy the rest of their lives with family or friends. Ken Murray, a retired physician himself, is qualified to speak about his experiences and express his opinions. He understands the people’s need to live longer and he respects that. The fact that constantly bemuses him is the need of extra suffering in order to do so. Murray firmly supports the idea that “almost anyone can find a way to die in peace at home” (Murray 235). Explicitly channeling his message to an audience of suffering patients, Murray advises them to spend their time wisely and not go through any medical treatments. The readers, ignorant of a doctor’s perspective on this situation, are required to listen to Murray. By going through many anecdotes about his former patients and his cousins, Murray brilliantly describes death and offers “recommendations” on how to spend the final years of your life. Murray makes his essay very personal and relatable with his use of anecdotes, allowing readers to relate to his stories. By complementing his anecdotes with pathos, Murray appeals to the reader's emotion by describing the suffering that patients go through when they stay in hospitals all day. With a combination of anecdotes and ethos, Murray was able to successfully show the restraints of modern medication and admonish his readers from resorting to extensive medical treatments.