In this choice, all measures are taken to try to keep you alive as long as possible, including the use of breathing machines, feeding tubes, and chest compressions (CPR). Death usually occurs in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital.
This choice tries to keep you comfortable using only limited measures and avoiding the ICU. If you want, your care team can attempt CPR or use hospital resources as needed. Many patients die at home, if they prefer. Pain and suffering are usually managed well.
This choice uses a palliative care team to address your physical, psychological, and spiritual pain and suffering without any attempts to cure your illness. Most patients die at home.
You can refuse all treatments and manage your pain on your own or with the help of others. It can be hard for others to care for you in this choice. If you are not able to make decisions for yourself or people believe you are not acting in your own best interest, someone else might have to choose for you.
In this choice, you can remove all food and drink, speeding up your death when other measures do not work or are illegal. Death usually occurs at home. The process can be hard at first but becomes easier to tolerate over time.
In this choice, doctors use medications to put you to sleep and relieve your pain. Those medications might speed up death.
In this choice, doctors prescribe you a pill to take if they believe you cannot survive longer than six months, only if you are making clear decisions and can swallow the pill yourself. This choice is only legal in five states currently and some countries outside the US. You must be a resident in those states where it is legal.
With this choice, a doctor has to administer the life-ending medication, usually because you cannot do it yourself. This choice is only legal in a small number of countries outside the US. In those countries, there is a strict system to make sure you are clear and certain about your choice.
In this choice, you can end your life however and whenever you choose. Suicide can be extremely difficult on others, especially your family and loved ones who may be responsible for any costs associated with your death. This choice is illegal in most countries, but it is not considered a crime in every country. Some survivors of suicide attempts report they greatly regret their decision.