More Patients Demanding Aggressive Medical Treatment

English: SAN DIEGO (Oct. 13, 2010) A laptop is used to control a training mannequin's vital signs during a mock code blue drill at the pain management clinic at Naval Medical Center San Diego. Mannequins offer health care providers the opportunity to practice using simulated patients and sophisticated technology. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anastasia Puscian/Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When patients are in the late stages of a terminal illness, they generally have two choices: they can either pursue further medical evaluation and management or then pursue aggressive last-effort treatments, or they can simply opt for hospice care and pain management to help make their last days more comfortable.

A recent survey from the Pew Research Center revealed that, these days, more and more patients are choosing medical evaluation and management followed by aggressive care than simple pain management and palliative care. Back in 1990, only around 15% of those surveyed were supporters of aggressive care, while now, around 35% surveyed support aggressive care, even when there is no real reason to expect an improvement in their conditions. It appears that, as people are exposed to more and more medically related information, as they have been thanks to technological developments over the years, they feel more comfortable having their own medical opinions and voicing those opinions. 

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