[KGIII]

Yeah, fire is right off my list of good ways to die. I'm pretty sure that has to suck. Conversely, if I'm burned badly and still alive, I probably won't want to live. I already have a living will and DNR.

I'm 59. If I get another 11 years, I'll be pretty stoked. I've done everything I've wanted to do, for the most part. I don't have any great yearning to accomplish more, I've done plenty. I have enough and worked my ass off to get here. This is just time to enjoy the moment, something I feel privileged to have.

It is also very comforting to know my affairs are all in order. If I get diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, I'll probably order up a large satchel of illegal narcotics, invite some friends over, and go on a wild adventure until I die. I may not even seek treatment other than pain remediation.

And, yeah, my close friends and family all know my views. They are largely in agreement.

Meh... I figured I'd share an alternative view. I'm pretty sure many won't agree they'd do it this way, but it's not their death.

[Mz]

It is also very comforting to know my affairs are all in order. If I get diagnosed with cancer tomorrow, I'll probably order up a large satchel of illegal narcotics, invite some friends over, and go on a wild adventure until I die. I may not even seek treatment other than pain remediation.

I know a cancer survivor who basically said (at the time that they had cancer and were undergoing treatment) that if they didn't have a child to raise, that would be the path they would choose. They said having cancer was not torture, but the treatments were, basically.

[KGIII]

Yeah, it would take external stimuli for me to choose the treatment options. A grandchild might do that. Maybe excessive angst from the missus but that's unlikely - she knows my views and I'd not be with her if she wasn't accepting of them.

Of course, we can't really tell unless I'm actually in that situation... I can only speculate.

I've been in pretty dangerous places, including combat, so I know I'm not really scared of my mortality. I just REALLY hope it doesn't hurt like hell beforehand.

[Mz]

I'm a former military wife and made my peace with my own mortality some years back, during a serious health crisis in my 30s. And I lived when I should have died because I spent about 3.5 years in constant, excruciating please kill me now pain and I reached a point where reducing the pain was all that mattered. I was fine with it if my attempts to hurt less caused me to die quicker. (But, they didn't. They put me on a path back to health. Go figure.)

So, I hear ya. I hate hurting. I'm not afraid of death, though.