{
  "id": 11970817,
  "title": "Good palliative care and assisted dying can go hand in hand | Letters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/04/good-palliative-care-and-assisted-dying-can-go-hand-in-hand-letters",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-10-04T17:06:32.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Guardian Health",
    "slug": "guardian-health",
    "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/04/good-palliative-care-and-assisted-dying-can-go-hand-in-hand"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The article highlights the urgent need for reform in end-of-life care within the UK, with Jane Turner stressing that changes are necessary. Turner's husband, John, passed away at the age of 43 after a six-year battle with bowel cancer. Despite undergoing over 70 rounds of chemotherapy and John's determination to watch their children grow up, he endured more than 70 rounds of chemotherapy. John spent his final three months in a hospice, receiving the best palliative care available. However, he still suffered greatly. In one instance, John screamed in excruciating pain while stuck in a bath, unable to move, for nearly an hour before any relief was felt. As the cancer caused his torso to swell, John eventually suffocated, and no medication could prevent it. John was fully aware of his condition throughout, expressing repeatedly that he could not continue. In his final moments, the author wore earplugs to endure the sound of John's gasping.",
  "summary": "Readers respond to an article on the urgent need for palliative care reform Jane Turner is right that end-of‑life care needs fixing ( MPs, you told us clearly that end-of-life care in the UK is broken. So now we need you to fix it, 28 September ), and I argue that it needs fixing on two fronts at once. My husband, John, died in March aged 43 after nearly six years of bowel cancer treatment. He…",
  "key_points": [
    "Jane Turner advocates for reform in end-of-life care in the UK.",
    "John Turner endured 70+ rounds of chemotherapy in final months.",
    "John suffered greatly despite best palliative care, suffocating in excruciating pain."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}