In medical school, Shoshana Ungerleider was primarily focused on curing disease and prolonging life. However, as her medical training progressed, Dr. Ungerleider noticed that a preponderance of incurably ill people were spending the last of their precious days hooked up to life-sustaining machinery, isolated from friends and family,  with little to no information about the…

By the late 1980s, psychologist Greg Shrader’s life as a gay man was in full bloom. Unfortunately, it was also at that time that AIDS began impacting those whom he knew and cared for. While other, heterosexual twenty-somethings were bar-hopping and starting families, Greg and his comrades were writing eulogies and attending funerals. To lose…

   Paul David had it all: A loving wife, two beautiful daughters, a great job, and a vast network of family and friends. When he hopped on his bike one sunny day in July of 2008, Paul had no idea he would soon be battling his way back from the brink of death.   How did…

In her book Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life, Dr. Jessica Zitter sheds light on how both patients and their doctors face medical decisions before death is imminent. For patients and loved ones, speaking up and asking questions about medical procedures can make the difference between feeling scared and feeling empowered. For…

Dr. Judith Schwarz is the Clinical Director of End of Life Choices New York. She specializes in talking with the critically or terminally ill about how they wish to live the remainder of their days. Dr. Schwarz has devoted her career to navigating the gray areas that emerge when death is near. What obstacles do…