3 ms·

Can you name a procedure that's actually life-saving, then? As far as I can tell, any medical procedure maxes out at "extending life"

• mikeash 12y ago
  Personally, I'd define the difference as being whether or not you ultimately die of the same incidence of the same disease you're treating, or of something else. If you're treated for brain cancer and you live some more years but ultimately die of that brain cancer, it's life extending. If you're treated for brain cancer and die of an unrelated heart condition, it's life saving. I don't know how meaningful that difference ultimately is, but I think that's how I'd use the terms.