自2012年以來，上海提供臨終關(guān)懷服務(wù)，但臨終關(guān)懷在中國還并不普遍。國人對死亡與絕癥病人臨終醫(yī)療的傳統(tǒng)認識與西方截然不同。在中國，知道病情的往往是絕癥病人家屬，醫(yī)生一般會向病人隱瞞他們不治之癥的事實。西方正相反，醫(yī)生會讓病人知道自己的身體狀況，有時家屬到病人生前最后一刻都被蒙在鼓里。

Hospice care has taken a very long time to be accepted in China, but it still suffers from traditions that run completely contrary to the way we Westerners view medical care for the terminally ill. It's common practice for Chinese doctors to only inform a patient's family, not the patient himself, if the patient is terminally ill. In the West, however, the reverse tends to occur.

2007年，Rob Reiner執(zhí)導(dǎo)的文藝喜劇電影《遺愿清單》（Bucket List）風(fēng)靡美國，“遺愿清單”一詞隨之走紅于網(wǎng)絡(luò)。電影講述了兩個中年人（分別由Morgan Freeman 和 Jack Nicholson飾演）得知自己身患絕癥后，決定在死前完成一系列心愿的故事。兩人列下自己臨終的心愿單，經(jīng)歷了人生最后的精彩。

The term 'bucket list' came into popularity circa 2007 when the motion picture of the same name was released. The Rob Reiner-directed film tells of two middle-aged men (played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) who are diagnosed with untreatable cancers. Facing death, they draw up bucket lists - a checklist of life goals one wants to do before they die - and then set out to accomplish these objectives while their clocks tick away.

《遺愿清單》對人們走向死亡的心理的刻畫在西方受好評。生命的終點只有一個，但沒有人愿意帶著遺憾離開人世。所以中國人所謂對至親“善意的謊言”也許不是保護而是傷害。在世時間不多的親人如果能夠安排好生前想做的事，平靜面對死亡，臨終時他們是滿足而有尊嚴的。醫(yī)生與家屬該隱瞞病情還是讓病人得到臨終關(guān)懷？歡迎讀者評論，告訴我們你的觀點！

The Bucket List was popular in the West because it addressed how we approach death. We might not think of it often, but in the end everyone hopes to have a death that leaves behind no regrets. The Chinese way of trying to protect our loved ones from bad news is, for many, the worst possible thing you can do to them in their time of dying. You are more than welcome to tell us your opinions and comments!

Hospice care has taken a very long time to be accepted in China, but it still suffers from traditions that run completely contrary to the way we Westerners view medical care for the terminally ill.

It's common practice for Chinese doctors to only inform a patient's family, not the patient himself, if the patient is terminally ill. There is only one reason, then, to be admitted to a hospice here, and that is to receive palliative care - in other words, to make dying as easy and dignified as possible.

So, you see, in China, admission into a hospice is an admission that there is no cure possible.

I first encountered this approach to the terminally ill a few years ago, when a colleague was talking about asking for some time off to take his dying father to visit Beijing. I told him this was a thoughtful gesture and that his father must be really grateful for this last-chance opportunity. 'But we haven't told my father he is dying,' my friend responded.

At that time I thought this was just one family's individual albeit quirky approach to medical care. But I have since discovered that this is, indeed, the norm here.

A report in the Global Times two weeks ago on the hospice care being offered in Shanghai noted that since 2012 the local government has invested more than 40 million yuan ($6.45 million) in hospice and palliative care projects. Around the city, more than 300 hospice palliative care wards have been opened in 74 community health service centers, a nursing home and a private hospital. Another 801 residents have been given hospice care at home. Over the past three years, more than 6,000 terminally ill cancer patients have received these services, saving Shanghai hospitals an estimated 60 million yuan in unnecessary or ineffective medical treatments.

Doctors by nature have a special relationship with patients, and it is with the patients that they should be sharing vital information, not just the next of kin. In the West, however, the reverse tends to occur, whereby patients, having been diagnosed with fatal diseases, swear the doctors to secrecy and families are kept in the dark until the last moment.

Many aspects of life in China are about caring for one's family. Children are overly pampered, extended family and distant relatives are brought into a couple's home, and old folks are treated with the utmost deference and respect. But there is also a stage where all that care and consideration starts to encroach on a person's rights, not to mention their life goals.

The term 'bucket list' came into popularity circa 2007 when the motion picture of the same name was released. The Rob Reiner-directed film tells of two middle-aged men (played by Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson) who are diagnosed with untreatable cancers. Facing death, they draw up bucket lists - a checklist of life goals one wants to do before they die - and then set out to accomplish these objectives while their clocks tick away.

The film was a box-office success and bucket lists as a social phenomenon began to flourish. On the Internet one can now find many websites dedicated to making and sharing bucket lists. Whether they are dying or not, all manner of people have begun drawing up their own lists.

Unfortunately, this concept has yet to catch on here in China.

The Bucket List was popular in the West because it addressed (albeit in a romanticized way) how we approach death. We might not think of it often, but in the end everyone hopes to have a death that leaves behind no regrets.

The Chinese way of trying to protect our loved ones from bad news is, for many, the worst possible thing you can do to them in their time of dying.

In the grand scheme of life, to have the opportunity to accomplish a few things that we never got to do before we kick the bucket is but a small request.

Photos: Internet