In the Face of Terminal Illness: Prolonging Life or Reduce Suffering? The Heart-Wrenching Dilemma of Family Bonds

This article was written during a time when a loved one was undergoing treatment in the hospital—a moment for rational reflection and a profound questioning of the soul.

When a loved one is diagnosed with an illness that modern medicine cannot cure, we are faced with a difficult choice: while treatment can prolong life, it often brings more pain and suffering. Could our well-intentioned efforts unintentionally become a form of “doing harm out of kindness”?

From a results-oriented perspective, foregoing treatment might offer faster relief and less suffering. Yet emotionally, it’s nearly impossible for anyone to make such a decision. We instinctively want to do everything we can to delay the end of life, even if it means gaining just one more day.

Even if the person themselves wishes to end their life, we are powerless to help. Assisting someone in ending their life crosses moral boundaries and is outright illegal. The first legal case involving euthanasia in China, which occurred in 1986 in Hanzhong, Shaanxi, and countless other cases where people were sentenced for assisting euthanasia, highlight this heartbreaking conflict.

When one loses the ability to act independently, the choice between life and death is no longer their own to make.

People often say that “life is priceless,” but when faced with a terminal illness that demands immense financial resources for treatment, we are forced to put a price on a person’s life.

I only hope my loved one suffers as little pain as possible. Their release would also be my release. If I were to face such a situation myself, I would choose to end my life peacefully, with a single injection, once I lost the ability to act independently. My ashes would be scattered into the sea, with no need for any ceremonies or memorials. If, during my lifetime, I could leave behind some works or digital assets, I would continue to exist in the digital world in some form. Otherwise, I would simply fade away, forgotten by time, like a wisp of smoke dissipating into the vast flow of history.

“The ignorant are happy, the knowledgeable are in pain, and the wise find their way back to happiness through pain.” — The Wisdom of Life