Suffer In Silence

  Here is a very laid-back philosophical outlook on death from a medical man. 'Dying of cancer is the "best death" and Dr Richard Smith, a former editor of the British Medical Journal, said that cancer allowed people to say goodbye and prepare for death and was therefore preferable to sudden death from organ failure or "the long, slow death from dementia.' (Independent, 31 December)This outlook might appear to be a very calm scientific one but it is hard to imagine that the doctor concerned might not feel a twinge of regret if he had to suffer from the disease. RD