Ethical issues in pain management.

The elderly are a vulnerable group and many will face several chronic illnesses, with cancer being likely among them. Each year approximately one million elderly are abused, with the most vulnerable being those who rely on family members for their care. Humphrey stated that old age "is sufficient cause to give up" even when the individual is not suffering. Humphrey's statement exemplifies how much our society has come to devalue the elderly. Opponents of euthanasia and assisted suicide as alternatives to effective palliative care contend that we are degrading not only the sanctity of life for the elderly, but we are also undermining the goals of medicine.