The football approach to treating cancer patients.

Lessthantwo minutesshowedon theclockandthehometeamwasdown 60-0 in the fourth quarter.The fans were unanimousin their supportand respectfor a team and coachwho playedon andrefusedto admitdefeat until thefinalwhistleblew. Theold manfinally diedduringhis fifth hospitalizationfor experimental chemotherapy, thenursestalkedglowinglyoftheoncologistwhonevergave up on his patient. Only the family seemedbitter. Using sports analogiesto treat peoplewith terminaldiseaseis simplistic atbest,andyet theproperroleofthe physicianin this setting is not well defmedandin needofnewdefinition. In the United States,ourcultural and moralidealsemphasizetheimportance of evenone humanlife and champion thosewhotry to denytheirmortality. It is not surprisingthat the hospice movementcameto this country from abroadand only recently is moving from a grassroots level into mainstreammedicine.Therearethreeconceptualobstaclesthathaveto beovercomebefore terminal carewill be properlyintegratedinto medicalcare. 1. Thegoalofmedicineis to saveor at leastprolonglife at all cost.This is basedon a narrowview of the roleof the physician.The wordsof the Hippocratic Oath actually call for physiciansto “help the sick” and not “battle diseasewhere ever you encounterit.” Studiesshowthatfor cancer patients survival is not the only relevantgoal.1Manypatientshavethe