Dementia is the next global pandemic, says Aids prevention pioneer

reply to post by BDBinc

Do you think you can talk about what is best for others?
I am saying it is not my right or your right to tell an individual what he/she can do.

*shakes head*

You missed the whole point
And you are being a hypocrite to boot

First off, I said the PATIENT, not you or me.
The person who is suffering terminally has the right to decide for themselves

Second off, for you to sit there and argue the fact that the person should NOT die, is taking that person's choice away from them.
Do you see the hypocrisy there??
You are only for one choice, which is your right.
However, I am referring to the individual that is suffering, not you

I have been a loved one suffering and dying

Sorry, you lost me here
When one is terminally ill, you never "get better" , you only die, end of story
These are the people that I am referring to, NOT treatable people
And once again, the decision to go early is up to them, not you nor me

As we are talking about dementia in some cases there is peace, others have confusion, aggression and agitation this does not mean they want you to kill them.

Once again, failure on your part to understand my comment
No one is going to "kill" them
It is the RIGHT of the PATIENT to decide what's best for them

NOT you nor me......the patient only

If you know any thing about Kevorkian's work, then you would know that it was the patient's who sought his help for an early death from their terminal painful illness.
And it was set up so the patient could do it to themselves.
That way, the family members never felt any guilt.
[One lady that comes to mind is one that suffered from stomach cancer --Very nasty towards the end.]

Who are we to stop their right to do that?

f you say you are touchy and think others haven't experience of dementia I think it would be a stretch to say you are open minded based on that ( and also considering your fear of suffering).

Wow, just wow
I never mentioned 'Dementia' now did I? Like I said, you didn't read the comments to well.
I said 'TERMINAL ILLNESES' ....got that?????
You know like Cancer? Parkinson's disease?

And it's not MY fear of suffering
It's the seeing suffering of my loved one that hurts
If you don't get that, then I give up.

You clearly haven't the foggiest idea of where I'm coming from.


Please take time to read the comments carefully this time

Thank you

Pure hyperbolic exaggeration.
Increase the number of long-lived people, increase the total number of people with dementia!

What this thread ignores is the rate of dementia, which is declining:

A new study has found that dementia rates among people 65 and older in England and Wales have plummeted by 25 percent over the past two decades, to 6.2 percent from 8.3 percent, a trend that researchers say is probably occurring across developed countries and that could have major social and economic implications for families and societies.

Another recent study, conducted in Denmark, found that people in their 90s who were given a standard test of mental ability in 2010 scored substantially better than people who had reached their 90s a decade earlier. Nearly one-quarter of those assessed in 2010 scored at the highest level, a rate twice that of those tested in 1998. The percentage of subjects severely impaired fell to 17 percent from 22 percent.

www.nytimes.com...
Dementia Rate Is Found to Drop Sharply, as Forecast

theconversation.com...

Dementia Incidence Said to Drop as Public Health Improves

Your "source" is a "puff-piece" on Peter Piot, the current international ambassador against dementia, who is present during the current international forum on ADI being conducted in England.

Even the "ambassador," himself, recognizes that increased wealth and development will serve to lower rated of mental decline associated with an aging population:

Piot has become an unofficial dementia ambassador ... .

He wants better research, treatment, prevention and cultural change which, when combined, he says, might create a tipping point for dementia. It is "the most neglected of all the neglected health problems and it's a hidden problem because people are at home – they're already written off by society".

www.theguardian.com...


While the thread can rely upon sheer numbers, that ignores the most important facts: that fewer of the people living longer are developing dementia. Thanks to The Lancet and The New York Times for a well-researched and totally logical story based upon simple facts and basic science.

With better nutrition, education, medicine all more-widely available than ever before, peoples' metal acuity has improved. Look at the "Kuznets Curve" studies (also touted in the NYT) for evidence of how improved living standards and increased development benefit both nature and mankind.

This threads is more akin to hyped star-gathering garbage than to an honest assessment of reality.

deny ignorance

jw

reply to post by snarky412


You don't have to euthanize people, just look for the cures that people have had to work out themselves. People get Alzheimer's for what seems a couple of main reasons but the first is the brains inability to get energy because it seems to get an insulin problem. Some researchers think its a form of Diabetes. Coupled with a B vitamin problem. Apparently a lot of people have been taking Extra Virgin Coconut oil, which gives the brain energy in the form of ketones and not sugar. Which in many cases have resulted in the disease going into reverse. But you wont see this getting pushed as its very cheap. it came from a Doctor whose hubby had early onset Alzheimer's and couldn't get him into a new trial. After she read the research document she concluded that the trial was basically feeding the brain ketones instead of sugar. Within weeks her husband was back to normal function.www.earthclinic.com... just go down the page until you hit B12 and coconut oil...There has been so many reported cures on this stuff its getting interesting.

Never Despise
Could dementia be caused in part by toxins in food, the environment, industrial processes and products, etc.? Its a question many in industry do not want investigated too closely.

I believe so.

Dementia in senior citizens is actually great for the economy. The wealth these people have acquired during their lifetime is sucked out of them before they die as they usually end up in a nursing home because their children are too busy working to look after them. This means that their children receive less of an inheritance, and therefore, need to work harder and be more productive for the system.

As far as toxins are concerned, a person once told me his theory of what causes dementia and I can't help but to believe it to be true. He believes the chemicals put in water supplies are to blame and explained it to me.

Pure water is actually not very electrically conductive at all. Once it becomes contaminated it becomes conductive. The more contaminated it is, the more conductive it becomes.

The brain is encased in a fluid, and is like complex electronic circuit board. If this fluid becomes conductive, no points for guessing what happens. The brain literally starts short circuiting.

Something to think about...

signalfire
To everything else, add prions. These very weird 'folding proteins' are neither alive nor dead, are impossible to cook out of food, and thanks to farmers who didn't want to waste downer cattle and made cannibals out of vegetarian livestock, are now probably infesting our food supply.

Yes, and as a result I worry about 'mechanically separated meat'...which can involve high-pressure sprays separating spinal cord tissue from bone. I don't buy cheap burger...but I'm sure this meatish product shows up in all kinds of other stuff. Not eating a lot of head cheese lately either...

snarky412
reply to post by BDBinc

 

Do you think you can talk about what is best for others?
I am saying it is not my right or your right to tell an individual what he/she can do.

*shakes head*

You missed the whole point
And you are being a hypocrite to boot

First off, I said the PATIENT, not you or me.
The person who is suffering terminally has the right to decide for themselves

Second off, for you to sit there and argue the fact that the person should NOT die, is taking that person's choice away from them.
Do you see the hypocrisy there??
You are only for one choice, which is your right.
However, I am referring to the individual that is suffering, not you

I have been a loved one suffering and dying

Sorry, you lost me here
When one is terminally ill, you never "get better" , you only die, end of story
These are the people that I am referring to, NOT treatable people
And once again, the decision to go early is up to them, not you nor me

As we are talking about dementia in some cases there is peace, others have confusion, aggression and agitation this does not mean they want you to kill them.

Once again, failure on your part to understand my comment
No one is going to "kill" them
It is the RIGHT of the PATIENT to decide what's best for them

NOT you nor me......the patient only

If you know any thing about Kevorkian's work, then you would know that it was the patient's who sought his help for an early death from their terminal painful illness.
And it was set up so the patient could do it to themselves.
That way, the family members never felt any guilt.
[One lady that comes to mind is one that suffered from stomach cancer --Very nasty towards the end.]

Who are we to stop their right to do that?

f you say you are touchy and think others haven't experience of dementia I think it would be a stretch to say you are open minded based on that ( and also considering your fear of suffering).

Wow, just wow
I never mentioned 'Dementia' now did I? Like I said, you didn't read the comments to well.
I said 'TERMINAL ILLNESES' ....got that?????
You know like Cancer? Parkinson's disease?

And it's not MY fear of suffering
It's the seeing suffering of my loved one that hurts
If you don't get that, then I give up.

You clearly haven't the foggiest idea of where I'm coming from.


Please take time to read the comments carefully this time

Thank you

The tread is on dementia.
Why are you talking about cancer and euthanasia on this thread?
Thats why I said don't go there.

You are afraid of suffering.
Death is your solution for others( who are terminally ill), so you do not have to suffer watching them suffer.
I

No saying patients with dementia should not get euthanised it is not hypocracy.
It is a statement of refusing to say (without knowing the individual) that a group of ill patients should be euthanized.

Nobody can stop anyone from suicide.
We both agree (and I never said otherwise) it is nothing to do with you or me whether or not someone decided to take their own life due to unbearable and needless pain.

I am terminally ill, I won't get better and I will die. I have been subjected to multiple attempts by the insurance corporation to end my life, these were terrifying and to be called a "social burden" was humiliating.
I have also suffered a loved one's slow and painful death.

There is a growing cost cutting movement to promote euthanasia -I do not think it needs promoting.

anonentity
reply to post by snarky412

 

You don't have to euthanize people, just look for the cures that people have had to work out themselves. People get Alzheimer's for what seems a couple of main reasons but the first is the brains inability to get energy because it seems to get an insulin problem. Some researchers think its a form of Diabetes. Coupled with a B vitamin problem. Apparently a lot of people have been taking Extra Virgin Coconut oil, which gives the brain energy in the form of ketones and not sugar. Which in many cases have resulted in the disease going into reverse. But you wont see this getting pushed as its very cheap. it came from a Doctor whose hubby had early onset Alzheimer's and couldn't get him into a new trial. After she read the research document she concluded that the trial was basically feeding the brain ketones instead of sugar. Within weeks her husband was back to normal function.www.earthclinic.com... just go down the page until you hit B12 and coconut oil...There has been so many reported cures on this stuff its getting interesting.

edit on 13-12-2013 by anonentity because: (no reason given)

Once again, I'm NOT talking about 'Dementia'

And not everything has a cure, that's what hospice units are for.
To make the terminally ill as comfortable as possible before they go.
Turn them into zombies to smother their pain. But that's okay *sigh*
Which still goes back to my earlier comment of hospitals and drug pharmacies making money off of sick people.

I keep referring to 'Terminal Illnesses'....hence non-treatable.
All doctors can do is give them meds to ease their pain until they go.

And I'm not talking about people putting other people down 'just because'
That would have be up to the Patient themselves, that is the one suffering from some kind of terminal illness that was only going to get worse over time with pain and misery

And yes, thank you, I know about coconut oil. I use it myself [multi-purpose actually]
Might want to also check into apple cider vinegar and black strap molasses as well if you haven't already

reply to post by BDBinc

The tread is on dementia.
Why are you talking about cancer and euthanasia on this thread?
Thats why I said don't go there.

First of all, my initial comment was in response to signalfire as shown here...first page:

To everything else, add prions. These very weird 'folding proteins' are neither alive nor dead, are impossible to cook out of food, and thanks to farmers who didn't want to waste downer cattle and made cannibals out of vegetarian livestock, are now probably infesting our food supply. The fact that the symptoms may take up to 50 years to manifest mean that we'll likely never be able to find the root cause, and modern medicine having its head in the sand to any new idea that threatens their assurance of intellectual superiority compared to the whistle-blowers, it will take decades longer to see the truth than it otherwise should need.

It's time to have a real conversation about voluntary suicide when things get bad enough, take the 'sin' aspect out of it (thanks, church) and realize that sometimes, life isn't worth living anymore.

The US program "Frontline" had an excellent program on voluntary suicide a few months ago, I highly recommend not only the coverage itself, but the information therein. There are worse things than dying. Having a beating heart without any memory is one of them.

Now then, that is where I picked up on this topic.
If you had taken your time to read through all comments, you would have noticed this.

And I re-read thru your comments and never once did you say to stay away from Cancer or euthanasia.
You just kept on with the lecture against euthanasia......

You are afraid of suffering.
Death is your solution for others( who are terminally ill), so you do not have to suffer watching them suffer.

Oh, so now your an arm-chair psychologist huh?
Don't presume to know me.
I don't believe in making others suffer for my own gratification.
It's called a 'selfless' act to be able to let some one go
If you don't understand, than we'll just end that there

No saying patients with dementia should not get euthanised it is not hypocracy.
It is a statement of refusing to say (without knowing the individual) that a group of ill patients should be euthanized.

Calm down, no one is out to get a group of people.
Please, don't be so dramatic.

snarky412
reply to post by BDBinc

 

The tread is on dementia.
Why are you talking about cancer and euthanasia on this thread?
Thats why I said don't go there.

First of all, my initial comment was in response to signalfire as shown here...first page:

To everything else, add prions. These very weird 'folding proteins' are neither alive nor dead, are impossible to cook out of food, and thanks to farmers who didn't want to waste downer cattle and made cannibals out of vegetarian livestock, are now probably infesting our food supply. The fact that the symptoms may take up to 50 years to manifest mean that we'll likely never be able to find the root cause, and modern medicine having its head in the sand to any new idea that threatens their assurance of intellectual superiority compared to the whistle-blowers, it will take decades longer to see the truth than it otherwise should need.

It's time to have a real conversation about voluntary suicide when things get bad enough, take the 'sin' aspect out of it (thanks, church) and realize that sometimes, life isn't worth living anymore.

The US program "Frontline" had an excellent program on voluntary suicide a few months ago, I highly recommend not only the coverage itself, but the information therein. There are worse things than dying. Having a beating heart without any memory is one of them.

Now then, that is where I picked up on this topic.
If you had taken your time to read through all comments, you would have noticed this.

And I re-read thru your comments and never once did you say to stay away from Cancer or euthanasia.
You just kept on with the lecture against euthanasia......

You are afraid of suffering.
Death is your solution for others( who are terminally ill), so you do not have to suffer watching them suffer.

Oh, so now your an arm-chair psychologist huh?
Don't presume to know me.
I don't believe in making others suffer for my own gratification.
It's called a 'selfless' act to be able to let some one go
If you don't understand, than we'll just end that there

No saying patients with dementia should not get euthanised it is not hypocracy.
It is a statement of refusing to say (without knowing the individual) that a group of ill patients should be euthanized.

Calm down, no one is out to get a group of people.
Please, don't be so dramatic.

Why don't you then do your own thread on the topic of euthanasia and not tell people on a dementia thread what you think is right for all dementia patients people that you don't even know.

How do you know what memory loss feels like, that you think death is preferable to it for someone else ,you keep talking of things you haven't experienced. What makes you know what makes another persons life livable.


Your topic is voluntary suicide on a dementia thread. You don't even know what is wrong with your topic drift.
Memory loss in a human being is not a reason to "voluntary suicide" /murder the dementia patient.
You might be watching too much TV if you believe that.

BDBinc

snarky412
reply to post by BDBinc

 

The tread is on dementia.
Why are you talking about cancer and euthanasia on this thread?
Thats why I said don't go there.

First of all, my initial comment was in response to signalfire as shown here...first page:

To everything else, add prions. These very weird 'folding proteins' are neither alive nor dead, are impossible to cook out of food, and thanks to farmers who didn't want to waste downer cattle and made cannibals out of vegetarian livestock, are now probably infesting our food supply. The fact that the symptoms may take up to 50 years to manifest mean that we'll likely never be able to find the root cause, and modern medicine having its head in the sand to any new idea that threatens their assurance of intellectual superiority compared to the whistle-blowers, it will take decades longer to see the truth than it otherwise should need.

It's time to have a real conversation about voluntary suicide when things get bad enough, take the 'sin' aspect out of it (thanks, church) and realize that sometimes, life isn't worth living anymore.

The US program "Frontline" had an excellent program on voluntary suicide a few months ago, I highly recommend not only the coverage itself, but the information therein. There are worse things than dying. Having a beating heart without any memory is one of them.

Now then, that is where I picked up on this topic.
If you had taken your time to read through all comments, you would have noticed this.

And I re-read thru your comments and never once did you say to stay away from Cancer or euthanasia.
You just kept on with the lecture against euthanasia......

You are afraid of suffering.
Death is your solution for others( who are terminally ill), so you do not have to suffer watching them suffer.

Oh, so now your an arm-chair psychologist huh?
Don't presume to know me.
I don't believe in making others suffer for my own gratification.
It's called a 'selfless' act to be able to let some one go
If you don't understand, than we'll just end that there

No saying patients with dementia should not get euthanised it is not hypocracy.
It is a statement of refusing to say (without knowing the individual) that a group of ill patients should be euthanized.

Calm down, no one is out to get a group of people.
Please, don't be so dramatic.

Why don't you then do your own thread on the topic of euthanasia and not tell people on a dementia thread what you think is right for all dementia patients people that you don't even know.

How do you know what memory loss feels like, that you think death is preferable to it for someone else ,you keep talking of things you haven't experienced. What makes you know what makes another persons life livable.


Your topic is voluntary suicide on a dementia thread. You don't even know what is wrong with your topic drift.
Memory loss in a human being is not a reason to "voluntary suicide" /murder the dementia patient.
You might be watching too much TV if you believe that.

WTH?????????

Christ on a log you don't pay attention
We clearly are not on the same page

Did you even read signalfire's comment????
Or rather did you comprehend what it said?

Never mind..........end of discussion
*sigh*

signalfire
...
It's time to have a real conversation about voluntary suicide when things get bad enough, take the 'sin' aspect out of it (thanks, church) and realize that sometimes, life isn't worth living anymore.

The US program "Frontline" had an excellent program on voluntary suicide a few months ago, I highly recommend not only the coverage itself, but the information therein. There are worse things than dying. Having a beating heart without any memory is one of them.
...

The phrase,"give them a taste of their own medicine," comes to mind here.

Are you willing to execute an advance directive that when your memory no longer matches what you had at age 25, you are to be "euthanised?"

There are many people who have no problem with the activities of daily living despite having severely impaired memories.

What you are referring to can also be adapted to a general philosophy of eugenics.
Why don't we get rid of all of the "useless," whether they realize their uselessness or not?

It amazes me, the naivete` of some of the younger members of our society, and of this forum.
What passes for our "modern" education system clearly has produced an entire generation incapable of analysis and examination of life and events.

Beware the slippery slope.

jw

I remember watching my grandfather die.

He was a medic in WWII, father to eight and an womanizing alcoholic that loved to dance at the Legion.

He had Parkinsion's disease but only his left hand noticeably shook. Then he started forgetting things. After that it took about 2 years for him to be reduced to an invalid and die.

It broke most of the family financially, emotionally and spiritually. Granted there was a lot of other issues already there that didn't help and I'm making a long story short, but my mother and I were the ones that went to the nursing home 2-3 times a day to make sure he ate, was clean and had some companionship.

I saw firsthand how Alzheimer's eats holes in memories. But the worst were those 'good days'. I swear when those fleeting hours of clarity showed in his eyes what I saw was possible the most miserable and wretched man on the Earth at that moment. It was those moments that he knew what was happening that I hated the most.

I know it will come for me, it's in my DNA, but I won't be another dementia prisoner, rotting away in a home sitting in my own #. When that time comes I will kill myself.

reply to post by Lipton

I saw firsthand how Alzheimer's eats holes in memories. But the worst were those 'good days'. I swear when those fleeting hours of clarity showed in his eyes what I saw was possible the most miserable and wretched man on the Earth at that moment. It was those moments that he knew what was happening that I hated the most.

That is when we know we are all in this together. Horrible, horrible, horrible.
Rainbows
Jane

Thats the problem when someone who wants lots more funding for research into dementia shouts PANDEMIC.
Some who watch too much TV seem to have lost reason, talking of volunteer suicide as a treatment, convincing people ( without understanding) that to loose ones memories is worse than death.
People thinking that its in their DNA and they are now talking of volunteer suicide.
If (you are healthy and) you are talking of suicide for others or that dementia is in your DNA you have already have demented ideas.
Stop watching TV. There is only a pandemic of ignorance.

reply to post by BDBinc

There is only a pandemic of ignorance.

And you are walking, talking proof. However, if you ever want to inform yourself you might search "diseases of civilization" (1960's), "chronic disease" (1980's) and "non-communicable diseases" (2011) - it's the same package, just re-named. FYI - it's quantifiable - the World Economic Forum says "mental health" issues including the various dementias cost $16 Trillion in 2011. ...You say "They" want "lots more funding for research into dementia" - bull puckey! - TPTB are using the reality to push a Eugenics and euthanasia agenda. Here's a quick background in case you read:

NCD Pandemic Killing Over 37 Million This Year

In 2011, the NCD Pandemic will kill over 37 million people - more than all other causes combined. Up from 36 million in 2008, the death toll is still climbing; 44 million NCD-caused deaths are expected in 2020, 52 million by 2030. Over 12 million NCD fatalities this year are under the age of 60, at 33% of the NCD death toll - up from 9 million at 25% in 2008. The death toll in people under 40 is rising rapidly. Children are being diagnosed in record numbers, and kids born after 2000 are the first generation expected to die before their parents.

NCDs are incurable, progressing systematically from degeneration to disability, and slowly to death. Some symptoms are treatable, and progression can sometimes be delayed, but prevention is the only real defense.

The soaring NCD disability rate in relatively young people is a global crisis. Few countries have disability programs; in those that do, about .5 Billion people are classified as NCD-disabled and qualify for help. However, uptake stats from disability programs are misleading; most countries have been tightening their criteria regularly since the 1970's, just to cut costs. As a result, many functionally disabled people do not qualify for support, are not classified as disabled, and are not counted. Rough estimates show 3.5 Billion people suffer from NCDs -half the world's population- and the numbers are growing.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) ranks the NCD Pandemic as one of the top global threats to economic development, describing the Pandemic as an economic issue, "not a health issue." Reports conclude the NCD Pandemic is threatening every nations' productivity, decimating the world's labour force, and draining government coffers to cover escalating costs for healthcare, disability, and more. According to the WEF, the NCD Pandemic will cost $47 Trillion between 2011 and 2020.

Originally called "diseases of civilization" because they go hand in hand with industrial development, NCDs have now spread around the world. NCD stands for Non-Communicable Disease but no gender, age or country is immune; historically, nothing ever has spread so far and fast without an infectious component.

The World Health Organization (WHO) identifies the "big four" pandemic NCDs as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and lung diseases like asthma; the World Economic Forum (WEF) adds "mental health" to the list, including autism, ADHD, depression, anxiety, Mad Cow disease, Alzheimer's, other dementias and more - emphasizing the $16 Trillion "mental health" costs.

Dementia really? I wouldda thought it wooddah been greed?

reply to post by soficrow


The scientist declares dementia as a 'pandemic' so his funding into dementia gets continued and increased, these guys make millions, that is his personal stake in the lie.
If you support this don't we also have a mental illness "pandemic"? A greed pandemic? A corruption pandemic? A fatigue pandemic? An obesity pandemic? A ( sugar eating) diabetes pandemic?

I don't disagree with your thought that they are pushing the old ideas of nazi such as killing/ "volunteer suicide" of vulnerable people.
As I said it is happening, snarky is pushing it for dementia patients , much like a sheep watching a show on TV and bbbelieving it .

reply to post by BDBinc


Something horrible is happening to peoples' health - and not just here in North America. Our "diseases of civilization" are spreading around the world. I've been monitoring this and writing about it here for going on a decade. ...I drove up to Manitoba from New Mexico in 2000 - talked to lots of old people along the way. When I said my mom had cancer they ALL said no one ever used to get it but now every 2nd person has it [they were right: 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer in their lifetime in the US]. And more. Trust me. There IS a chronic disease pandemic and dementia is part of it - the end stage if the early symptoms don't kill you first, imho.

soficrow
reply to post by BDBinc

 

Something horrible is happening to peoples' health - and not just here in North America. Our "diseases of civilization" are spreading around the world. I've been monitoring this and writing about it here for going on a decade. ...I drove up to Manitoba from New Mexico in 2000 - talked to lots of old people along the way. When I said my mom had cancer they ALL said no one ever used to get it but now every 2nd person has it [they were right: 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will get cancer in their lifetime in the US]. And more. Trust me. There IS a chronic disease pandemic and dementia is part of it - the end stage if the early symptoms don't kill you first, imho.

So its a (poor) health pandemic ? Or is it a mental illness pandemic?
Lets make it simple.
Are the minds in North america ill/dis eased ? Big pharma's prescription rate, which north american people agree with, says they are .
Do you think North America has a healthy diet? (What's in the food, a lot of meat with hormones, processed food, soda, and the meat is tortured.)
Obviously, since the body is food transformed, they would be sick.
The way north americans attend to their minds and body pandemic?

BDBinc

Do you think you can talk about what is best for others?
I am saying it is not my right or your right to tell an individual what he/she can do.

This mentality is a source of irritation for me. You are obviously dead-set against the idea of assisted suicide, we get it. Thing is, you don't get to decide what someone can or cannot do. With your own logic here, you should simply be content with someone having this option for themselves. If we want to make it something more ethical & acceptable, write it into your will. For example, if it's ever legal here, how hard would it be to write "If I am in the position of an incurable, painful disease, terminal disease, or in < enter self-determined mental state here >, then I wish my life to cease with medical assistance." Simple, eh?
I'm hoping by the time I'm old enough to start having degenerative mental problems like dementia or Alzheimers, that people have pulled their heads out of their butts and grew some cajones about letting people decide if they want to carry on in less that stellar, likely unrecoverable health, or to jump ship. I'd prefer have the right to euthanasia as available as the right to have a DNR applied.
I have a long family history of dementia and Alzheimers, I'll take "CTL, ALT, DEL" when I'm no longer able to function cognitively. If I have an incurable or horribly painful disease before that happens, I'd still like that option on the table. For people to whine & complain that it's probably not what someone would have wanted, would you still moan & groan if it's in their wills? Yes, yes, you probably would. I'd expect the old excuse of "but they're not in their right mind!" to pop up. Well, I wrote it right there, my wishes. Respect them, and deal with it. I'd rather we get over this issue as a culture, and realize not all aspects of being alive are awesomesauce, and realize there are applicable times in life when not sticking around for more unrelenting torment is more humane. After all, we grant ANIMALS this right, why not us?