Dad and I discussed this and he does have an advanced directive. I pray I am never put in the position to have to make such decisions, however.

I think related to this is the advanced directive. On Dad's side, we've seen some very tough cases.

Dad's brother did not have any legal paperwork in place. So when he developed prostate cancer (3d time), they did the "seeds" (I forget if that is chemo or radiation?), when that didn't work and he lapsed into a coma they did feeding tubes and the process was 6 weeks none of us -- or him -- needed. My cousin - only child -- was not allowed to make any decisions as there was no paper work in place.

My cousin's husband died of throat cancer at age 52. He was a lifelong chain smoker. First cancer he lost part of his jaw. He continued smoking, and added chewing tobacco to the list. Second cancer took his larynx so he couldn't speak. Still, he kept smoking. Third cancer took . . . something, he was on a feeding tube at home, he managed it all himself and even continued working part time. In the end, he was w/ hospice at home for 7 months as his body slowly dwindled away, eaten by the cancer. Everything was being done to keep him alive, which I never understood, as there was no "cure" for what he had at that point. He was unconscious the last 5 months. My cousin continued to work her job, and was torn apart by this. Coming home to him in a hospital bed in the living room daily, going upstairs to bed at night, not knowing if he would make it, getting up in the morning and getting ready to go to work with him there - she stopped eating breakfast as the kitchen opened on to the living room. She lost 35 pounds and was at the ER herself several times at the end. She gained back 25 pounds -- less than 6 months after he passed. To me, something wasn't handled properly here, and that included her and her husband not getting the advance directives when they could.

Medical science has advanced so that we can keep a human alive far longer than "natural causes" would keep the body going. Everyone needs to be aware of this and get the proper legal documents executed.