--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Illness and death are not optional…" description: "\"Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right to determine how they approach them.\" — Marcia Angell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/marcia-angell-19102_approach_illness-and-death-are-not-optional-patie_1886803.jpg" --- # Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right… ![“Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right to determine how they approach them.” quote by Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/marcia-angell-19102_approach_illness-and-death-are-not-optional-patie_1886803.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/marcia-angell-19102_approach_illness-and-death-are-not-optional-patie_1886803.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/marcia-angell-19102_approach_illness-and-death-are-not-optional-patie_1886803.jpg) > “Illness and death are not optional. Patients have a right to determine how they approach them.” [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement asserts that illness and death are inevitable, and patients should have autonomy over how they confront these realities. **In simple terms:** Patients deserve control over end‑of‑life choices. Key Takeaway Advocate for patient autonomy. Themes healthcare ethics mortality patient rights Mood empathetic urgent Type ethical policy When to use this quote - hospital policy - family decisions - legal frameworks Key Concepts autonomy informed consent palliative care Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure true informed consent? - What barriers exist to patient decision‑making? A Different Perspective Some cultural contexts may limit patient choice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Approach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/approach/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Optional](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-optional-878427/) [Determine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/determine/) [Doctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doctor/) [Illness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness/) [Illness and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-and-death/) [Illness Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illness-death-2700740/) [Optional Patients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/optional-patients-2700739/) [Patience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patience/) [Patient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patient/) [Patients](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patients/) [Patients Right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patients-right-615720/) ## Related quotes > [Patient autonomy is paramount to the oath that we take when we enter the profession of medicine. That is why I am appalled when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ami-bera/patient-autonomy-is-paramount-to-the-oath-that-we-take-when-we-enter/) [Ami Bera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ami-bera/) > [Patients have the right to help themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-heywood/patients-have-the-right-to-help-themselves/) [James Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-heywood/) > [It took 23 years from Abraxane being conceived to us showing now with conclusiveness that it works in pancreatic cancer. We cannot afford as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-soon-shiong/it-took-23-years-from-abraxane-being-conceived-to-us-showing-now-with/) [Patrick Soon-Shiong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-soon-shiong/) > [You would think death was an optional extra nowadays. Nobody wants to tick that box.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hockney/you-would-think-death-was-an-optional-extra-nowadays-nobody-wants-to/) [David Hockney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hockney/) > [Should poverty , illness , and death not exist , man would not bow to anything](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/should-poverty-illness-and-death-not-exist-man-would-not-bow-to/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [I will tell you something about stories . . . They aren't just entertainment. Don't be fooled. They are all we have, you see,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/i-will-tell-you-something-about-stories-they-aren-t-just-2/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [My generation of writers has been prone to premature illness and death, especially the women. When Black male writers meet it's like a session…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/my-generation-of-writers-has-been-prone-to-premature-illness-and/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [We achieve active mastery over illness and death by delegating all responsibility for their management to physicians, and by exiling the sick and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-szasz/we-achieve-active-mastery-over-illness-and-death-by-delegating-all/) [Thomas Szasz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-szasz/) > [When I paint a woman in an armchair, the armchair is there to show illness and death-or as a protection.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-paint-a-woman-in-an-armchair-the-armchair-is-there-to-show/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) > [A diet rich in fruits and vegetables plays a role in reducing the risk of all the major causes of illness and death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-willett/a-diet-rich-in-fruits-and-vegetables-plays-a-role-in-reducing-the/) [Walter Willett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-willett/) > [He was too tough to experience disappointments and resentments - negative affections. In this nihilist fin de siècle, he was affirmation. Right through to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/he-was-too-tough-to-experience-disappointments-and-resentments/) [Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/) > [Stripped of all their masquerades, the fears of men are quite identical: the fear of loneliness, rejection, inferiority, unmanageable anger, illness and death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-l-liebman/stripped-of-all-their-masquerades-the-fears-of-men-are-quite/) [Joshua L. Liebman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-l-liebman/) > [Jesus doesn't give an explanation for the pain and sorrow of the world. He comes where the pain is most acute and takes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/jesus-doesn-t-give-an-explanation-for-the-pain-and-sorrow-of-the/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [Tucker was my safe place for three years, my secure dock in a sea of indecision as I dealt with my father's illness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-brown/tucker-was-my-safe-place-for-three-years-my-secure-dock-in-a-sea-of/) [Melissa Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-brown/) > [Yet birth, and lust, and illness, and death are changeless things, and when one of these harsh facts springs out upon a man at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/yet-birth-and-lust-and-illness-and-death-are-changeless-things-and/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) ## More by Marcia Angell > [Alternative medicine plays into this exaggerated notion that you can prevent disease simply by doing the right thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/alternative-medicine-plays-into-this-exaggerated-notion-that-you-can/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [I do think that we are an overmedicated society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/i-do-think-that-we-are-an-overmedicated-society/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [There's a certain libertarian right-wing view that there should be no FDA, that people can decide for themselves whether medicines are safe and effective.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/there-s-a-certain-libertarian-right-wing-view-that-there-should-be-no/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [For all of life's discontents, according to the pharmaceutical industry, there is a drug and you should take it. Then for the side effects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/for-all-of-life-s-discontents-according-to-the-pharmaceutical/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [When death is imminent and dying patients find their suffering unbearable, then the physician's role should shift from healing to relieving suffering in accord…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/when-death-is-imminent-and-dying-patients-find-their-suffering/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [In economic terms, health care is a highly successful industry - profitable, growing, and virtually recession-proof - but it's a massive burden on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/in-economic-terms-health-care-is-a-highly-successful-industry/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [Obamacare is simply incapable of doing what it is supposed to do - provide nearly universal care at an affordable and sustainable cost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/obamacare-is-simply-incapable-of-doing-what-it-is-supposed-to-do/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [Pharmaceutical companies have too much influence over the education of physicians in this country. They have too much control over the evaluation of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/pharmaceutical-companies-have-too-much-influence-over-the-education/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [The pharmaceutical industry isn't the only place where there's waste and inefficiency and profiteering. That happens in much of the rest of the health…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/the-pharmaceutical-industry-isn-t-the-only-place-where-there-s-waste/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [ The use of psychoactive drugs - including both antidepressants and antipsychotics - has exploded...\[yet\] 'the tally of those who are disabled...increased nearly two and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/the-use-of-psychoactive-drugs-including-both-antidepressants-and/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [Drug companies say they need to charge ever-higher prices to cover their research costs, but they spend far less on research and development than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/drug-companies-say-they-need-to-charge-ever-higher-prices-to-cover/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [It is simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/it-is-simply-no-longer-possible-to-believe-much-of-the-clinical/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [It is time for the scientific community to stop giving alternative medicine a free ride There cannot be two kinds of medicine — conventional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/it-is-time-for-the-scientific-community-to-stop-giving-alternative/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [There is something so biologically implausible that your attitude is going to cure a disease. There's a tremendous arrogance to imagine that your mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/there-is-something-so-biologically-implausible-that-your-attitude-is/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) > [Why should anyone - the state, the medical profession, or anyone else - presume to tell someone else how much suffering they must endure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-angell/why-should-anyone-the-state-the-medical-profession-or-anyone-else/) [Marcia Angell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) [Explore all 33 Marcia Angell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-angell/) ## More Approach quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [Ideal for the child and society in the best of times, Rudolf Steiner's brilliant process of education is critically needed and profoundly relevant now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-chilton-pearce/ideal-for-the-child-and-society-in-the-best-of-times-rudolf-steiner-s/) [Joseph Chilton Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-chilton-pearce/) > [I don't have any particular method, my approach is very simple. I try to understand the emotional graph of the character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratik-gandhi/i-don-t-have-any-particular-method-my-approach-is-very-simple-i-try/) [Pratik Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratik-gandhi/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Everything, every part that you approach has to be somehow rooted in yourself. You have to somehow root everything so that it's not just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judi-dench/everything-every-part-that-you-approach-has-to-be-somehow-rooted-in/) [Judi Dench](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judi-dench/) > [Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech. If you approach me at a bus stop and murmur Thou still unravished…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/literature-transforms-and-intensifies-ordinary-language-deviates/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [The whole secret to mastering the game of golf - and this applies to the beginner as well as the pro - is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-palmer/the-whole-secret-to-mastering-the-game-of-golf-and-this-applies-to/) [Arnold Palmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-palmer/) > [The essence of Christianity...is an ever-new encounter with... the God who speaks to us, who approaches us and who befriends us!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-benedict-xvi/the-essence-of-christianity-is-an-ever-new-encounter-with-the-god-who/) [Pope Benedict XVI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-benedict-xvi/) > [Like a morning dream, life becomes more and more bright the longer we live, and the reason of everything appears more clear. 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