‘Death from cancer is the best’

0
153

Controversial comments. Dr Richard Smith says cancer is “the best way to die”. Picture: B

Controversial comments. Dr Richard Smith says cancer is “the best way to die”. Picture: British Medical Journal. Source: Supplied

A LEADING doctor has courted controversy after saying we should stop wasting money on cancer treatment as it is the best way to die.

Richard Smith, the former editor of the prestigious British Medical Journal (BMJ), said cancer death was preferable to others because it gave a person time to say goodbye and to reflect on their life before they died.

In a blog published on the BMJ website Dr Smith acknowledged that, given the choice, most people would prefer a sudden death.

But he said such a death “may be very tough on those around you, particularly if you leave an important relationship wounded and unhealed.”

He went on: “The long, slow death from dementia may be the most awful as you are slowly erased, but then again when death comes it may be just a light kiss.

“Death from organ failure — respiratory, cardiac, or kidney — will have you far too much in hospital and in the hands of doctors.”

Dr Smith concludes that “death from cancer is the best”.

“You can say goodbye, reflect on your life, leave last messages, perhaps visit special places for a last time, listen to favourite pieces of music, read loved poems, and prepare, according to your beliefs, to meet your maker or enjoy eternal oblivion.”

With this in mind he said we should “stop wasting billions trying to cure cancer, potentially leaving us to die a much more horrible death.”

Heat rising ... With scorching temperatures forecast, the CFA are warning residents acros

Heat rising … With scorching temperatures forecast, the CFA are warning residents across the state to be alert for bushfires. Source: News Limited Source: Supplied

IN NATIONAL NEWS
EXTREME fire danger warnings have been issued and the CFA are on high alert for Victoria as hot and windy conditions hit the state.

— SEVEN people were hospitalised and 31 people charged with drugs offences after a New Year’s Eve music festival in Sydney went pear-shaped

TONY Abbott’s New Year video message has sparked debate on social media, after he said he is optimistic about what 2015 will bring politically.

— A WOMAN has been ordered to pay her former husband $12,500 for defaming him on Facebook as a wife abuser.

— A MAN is fighting for his life in St George Hospital after one of two serious fireworks accidents during New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Funerals begin ... Relatives lower the coffin containing the body of Hayati Lutfiah Hamid

Funerals begin … Relatives lower the coffin containing the body of Hayati Lutfiah Hamid, one of the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501, during her burial at a cemetery in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. Picture: AP Source: AP

IN WORLD NEWS

THE first funeral for a victim of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 has taken place as bad weather hampers the search for the wreckage of the downed plane.

HUMAN rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson says Australia must confront Egypt over jailed Peter Greste after he was handed a retrial but denied bail.

A DESPERATE scramble for money could have sparked a deadly NYE stampede that killed 36 people and injured 47 others. WARNING: Graphic photos

NORTH Korean dictator Kim Jong-un has called for a high-level meeting with South Korea potentially the first of its kind since 2007.

SEVEN people have been injured by gunfire in Canada, two critically, after a shooting at a New Year’s Eve party in Calgary.

Battle lost ... Kathy Taylor with her husband and five children. Picture: Taylor Family.

Battle lost … Kathy Taylor with her husband and five children. Picture: Taylor Family. Source: Supplied

ELSEWHERE

A MUM-OF-FIVE who was diagnosed with terminal cancer while 26-weeks pregnant and refused treatment to save her baby died on New Year’s Eve.

BILLIONAIRE Elon Musk has split from his second wife just a year after remarrying her.

— MORE than 35,000 people have signed a petition asking the parents of a transgender teen who killed herself to use her chosen name on her tombstone.

Ladies man ... Joseph Gordon-Levitt, right, seen during his stint hosting Saturday Night

Ladies man … Joseph Gordon-Levitt, right, seen during his stint hosting Saturday Night Live, is now a married man. Picture: YouTube Source: Supplied

IN SHOWBIZ NEWS

— INCEPTION actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt has married his girlfriend in a private ceremony at their home.

— ALEC Baldwin and his yoga instructor wife, Hilaria, are expecting their second child together. Baldwin is father to Carmen, 18 months, and Ireland, his 19-year-old daughter with first wife, Kim Basinger.

Taylor Swift’s Gift Giving 2014

TAYLOR Swift gave us the biggest album of 2014 with 1989. But she had one last gift for fans which she filmed and posted online right before the new year.

— THE first big musical event of 2015 has already happened — Kanye West and former Beatle Paul McCartney have released a song together. Hear it here.

Winner ... Australian Adam Gotsis has helped to team to win the Orange Bowl. Picture: Sup

Winner … Australian Adam Gotsis has helped to team to win the Orange Bowl. Picture: Supplied. Source: Supplied

IN SPORTS NEWS

AUSSIE defensive lineman Adam Gotsis has helped Georgia Tech to its first Orange Bowl in 63 years in America’s college football league.

BRITISH former world champion Jenson Button has confirmed that he has married his long-term Japanese-Argentine lingerie model girlfriend.

WEST Indies captain Denesh Ramdin says playing in South Africa will allow his young side to see why the hosts are the number one team in cricket.

Originally published as ‘Death from cancer is the best’