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Just because people can live longer, doesn't mean the quality of life they live in old age is any better. Which also means they aren't exactly interested in bei
by hos234 7y ago
Just because people can live longer, doesn't mean the quality of life they live in old age is any better. Which also means they aren't exactly interested in being treated for cancer or going through major surgery in their 60s and 70s. Ofcourse there are Sanders and Trump type energizer bunnies, but they are extreme outliers compared to everyone at the retirement community.
The metrics don't reflect that reality. Most old people (who have dealt with the healthcare system while caring for their parents in old age) know quite well "about the staggering 52% in the last 2 months, and 40% in the last month". Why is anyone paying that cost? For what?
I have a Cardiologist buddy who likes to say performing surgery and treating old people is like keeping a Windows 95 system alive and kicking just because its possible. And most of his patients know it and want easy ways to checkout, but either the Doc is obligated by family/incentivized by the hospital to perform some kind of elaborate treatment. Obviously yhis will change for the simple reason a majority of the Docs and the Patients want the change to happen. On top of that there is the ongoing shift of focus from treatment to prevention.
My larger point is there are always countervailing forces to any trend that is building up. A good case study is the Population Bomb predictions in the 70s - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Population_Bomb
It's good to know why it didnt play out.
- agumonkey 7y agoSimply telling a happy story here: 97yo neighbor had hip locked due to arthritis. Dr was scared of full hip replacement risks so neighbor lived a year without moving much. He and his wife degraded a bit due to this. Last month they insisted in trying. The man survived the operation, just a week later you can see how more lively he is.