Dying is one of the few events in life certain to occur—and yet one we are not likely to plan for. We will spend more time getting ready for two weeks away from work than we will for our last two weeks on earth. Consequently, says Frank Ostaceski, who runs a San Francisco home for the dying, "we have more preparation for how to operate our VCRS than we do for how to die." But as Moliere joked, "We die only once—and for so long!" So we should choose to die well. Too many of us don't. According to a new TIME/CNN poll, 7 out of 10 Americans say they want to die at home; instead, three-fourths die in medical institutions. More than a third of dying people spend at least 10 days in intensive-care units, where they often endure torturous (generally futile) attempts at a cure.
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