In the November 2002 issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle report that depression is common among patients with MS and tends to worsen as the severity of the illness increases.
Aside from Cancer,
you may remember that MS was the leading diagnosis found among 130+ people
Dr. Jack
Kevorkian "assisted-to-death."
Extremely unsettling, the assisted suicide rate for his patients with
MS is much greater than other far more commonly diagnosed and yet
comparatively devastating neurological disorders (such as Stroke,
Alzheimer's
disease and Parkinson's
disease). How can this be true?
The answer is clear to me; physicians claim
that about 54% of all people diagnosed with MS experience a serious depression
during their illness. There is evidence that depression can be the presenting
symptom in MS, and some studies have suggested that depression reported
by MS patients might be directly related to damage within certain parts
of the brain. To make matters worse, depression can be a side effect
of many MS medications. Definitely most unsettling, people with MS have
a seven-fold increased risk of suicide.
Regardless of what causes depression, physical
hardship is not always associated with depression. In Charles Dickens'
story "A
Christmas Carol."
Tiny Tim was not depressed. In fact, it was Ebenezer
Scrooge, who enjoyed every material comfort, who complained bitterly about
happiness and hope in others.
Depression is a real illness entirely
separate from and at times associated with other forms of
disease--it claims friends and family members each year who by themselves,
for whatever reasons, lose hope and end their lives. Obviously, there
is a real danger to supporting the euthanasia & assisted suicide movement.
We do not end a loved one's life to alleviate
the suffering that comes from depression. We should not end a loved one's
life to alleviate the suffering that comes from depression associated
with a physical and/or cognitive disability--regardless of whether that
depression occurs within our loved ones, within ourselves or both. Our
definition of "disease" must include anything that is
opposed to life itself--including the practice of euthanasia & assisted
suicide.
People who try their best to alleviate suffering within themselves and others through love and their willingness to take part in another person's suffering without acting to end that person's life--they are the true heroes among us. They are the strength, our true angels of mercy. And, they are the true healers within our society.
Saint Sebastian
He entered the list knowing that not all battles are visible to human eyes.
Explain
this: 1
in 4 people get
cancer at some point in their life. The annual incidence for MS is
1 in
50,000.
Why is
MS (what is generally a non-life ending infrequent
diagnosis) so prevalent among
Jack Kevorkian's Assisted Suicide patients? The answer is
Depression.
In addition to causing physical and cognitive problems, MS directly
initiates damage to the brain that at times likely
causes severe depression.
