Sanz Camilo
Department of Anthropology, The University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA.
Med Anthropol Q. 2025 Sep;39(3):e70012. doi: 10.1111/maq.70012. Epub 2025 Jun 18.
This article builds on years of ethnographic conversations I sustained with my father, 89, who lives in Colombia. Soon after getting diagnosed with an incurable Multiple Myeloma-a cancer known for unleashing prolonged and painful agonies-he withdrew from oncology treatments and secured access to euthanasia (assisted-dying) on his own, bypassing medico-insurance guidelines created to regulate this medical practice and prevent abuses. Eight years after withdrawing treatments, my dad is still alive. His case shines a light on how securing access to euthanasia may have had unintended therapeutic effects on existential fears, pain perception, and quality of life on his way to dying. My storytelling also seeks to discuss the ethical and legal dimensions of assisted-dying in Colombia, especially for patients who do not consider life as biological deterioration, and who are caught between aggressive treatments and painful agonies, on the one side, and burdensome medico-insurance bureaucracy, on the other.
本文基于我与居住在哥伦比亚的89岁父亲多年来进行的人种志访谈。在被诊断出患有无法治愈的多发性骨髓瘤（一种以带来长期痛苦折磨而闻名的癌症）后不久，他停止了肿瘤治疗，并自行获得了安乐死（协助死亡），绕过了为规范这种医疗行为和防止滥用而制定的医疗保险准则。停止治疗八年后，我父亲仍然活着。他的案例揭示了获得安乐死如何可能对他临终时的生存恐惧、疼痛感知和生活质量产生意想不到的治疗效果。我的讲述还旨在探讨哥伦比亚协助死亡的伦理和法律层面，特别是对于那些不认为生命是身体机能衰退，且一方面面临激进治疗和痛苦折磨，另一方面又遭遇繁琐医疗保险官僚作风的患者。
