The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, N ov em be r 14 ,2 01 9 | 36 1200 Speers Rd., Unit 12, Oakville, Ont. L6L 2X4 (905) 845 - 1408 | Fax (905) 845 - 5931 | ricky@rickywong.ca Ricky Wong CPA, CA, MBA, B. Eng Ricky WongRicky Wong DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONDIAMONDONONONONONDDD DIAMONDDIDIDIDIDIAMAMAMAMAMONONONONONONONDDD Voted Best Accountant by Oakville Beaver Readers for 11 Consecutive Years For more information please check our website www.rickywong.ca •Accounting •Auditing • Taxation THIS I S LEARNINGAT AMICA Amica Bronte Harbour, a senior lifestyles residence, invites you to a presentation about our waitlist program. Seating is limited. FRESH TOPICS AND A GOURMET LUNCH, ON US. JO IN US AT THE EVENT Thursday, November 21, 2019 ~ 11:00am-1:30pm 160 Bronte Rd, Oakville PR I VATE TOUR S AVA I L A BLE AM ICA .CA /BRONTEHAR BOUR RSVP BY NOVEMBER 19 DIANNE OR KATE AT 905-842-8167 All life comes to an end. As a family doctor who provides palliative care, I'm acutely aware of that fact. Having cared for pa- tients who are frail and el- derly, I'm also aware that we are living longer than ever before. Many of us are living well into our 80s and 90s. Medicine can do a lot to prolong life. But it doesn't always mean that we should. More is not always better. As a society, we must be able to talk about not just what a good life looks like, but what a good death looks like. I'm not just talking about medical assistance in dying. I'm talking about when to stop life-prolong- ing treatment. When to re- focus medicine on quality of life, not quantity. None of us knows when our time will come. But when life-threatening ill- ness strikes, we have a choice: investigate and try and treat it, or focus our at- tention on comfort and time with loved ones while nature takes its course? This is an important consideration at any and all stages of our lives. In fact, my husband and I have had conversations around advance care plan- ning. It becomes especially significant the older we grow. Each illness takes its toll. Each illness impacts overall quality of life. Patients do not return to what they were before their illnesses. I had the privilege of caring for a patient who took the time to talk to his family about his life - and his death. This doesn't al- ways happen. And it should. I encourage you all to talk to your family and help them understand the kind of life you want to live, the extent of aggressive treatment that you want, and what a good death means for you. In fact, when my patient became suddenly unre- sponsive, his daughters could speak up for him. Af- ter we discussed all the op- tions, they told me that he would not want more done. Had I automatically sent him to the Emergency Department, he would have endured IVs, blood draws, chest x-rays, CT scans and other tests. Instead, he chose to stop. We focused on keep- ing him comfortable and pain-free. Giving him the dignified death that he wanted. This is what a good death looks like. Like I said, there is a lot that medicine can do nowa- days. What that means needs due consideration by you and your family. For those looking for more guidance, check out www.advancecareplan- ning.ca. Nadia Alam is a Georgetown physician and past president of the Onta- rio Medical Association. Her columns also appears on www.medi- um.com/@docschmadia. She can be reached at na- dia.alam@oma.org. OPINION LET'S REFOCUS MEDICINE TO QUALITY OF LIFE FAMILIES SHOULD TALK ABOUT IT, WRITES NADIA ALAM NADIA ALAM Column SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY NEWSLETTER AT INSIDEHALTON.COM