They Call Me Doctor Death: How Our Medical System Robs the Terminally Ill of

Too often we view death as an enemy to be denied, fought, and defeated, rather than as an inevitable and natural part of life. The medical establishment routinely buys into this view, promoting aggressive treatments by overselling technology and hope, which only prolong needless suffering for terminal patients and their families. But as this candid book shows, we don't have to go down that path. As a long-time palliative and hospice care physician, Dr. Ken Pettit talks openly about a subject few of us want to discuss. His focus is not on prolonging life, but on helping terminal patients die "a good death," with the best possible quality of life up to the end. Based on his work with hundreds of patients and families, as well as the life-altering experience of watching family and friends face death, Dr. Pettit illuminates, in the vivid detail that only an insider can provide, the failings of our medical establishment. He empowers us to ask questions, challenge assumptions, and prepare, with pro-active clarity, for our final days. This book will help all of us-patients, families, and medical professionals-break our collective silence about death, so we can develop better ways of discussing, treating, and encountering what we will all someday face.

Dr. Kenneth Pettit was born in Baldwin Park, Ca. and raised in Gilbert, Az. First exposed to medicine as a hospital orderly at age 18, he worked as an EMT before becoming a police officer and later a detective. After leaving law enforcement, Pettit obtained intermediate EMT and paramedic certifications, working in emergency rooms as an ER technician. He earned an associate degree in nursing at Excelsior College and worked as an RN for several years, before going on to medical school at Western University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, in Pomona, Ca. He completed his residency at Midwestern University in Glendale, Az. For 15 years Dr. Pettit worked in family practice, urgent care, and wound care before transitioning fulltime to hospice and palliative care. He has received a number of awards for his work. For recreation he enjoys riding Harleys, flying helicopters, and travel.