"Is this the same DE powder we use in our pools?" Yikes! I have not read the entire thread but DO NOT INGEST POOL DE. I will try to find the relevant info but for now, trust me. It can kill you. The non-processed de is safe to ingest.
With difficult questions, always ask "what is the most legendary course of action"? Giving up clearly doesn't qualify, therefore one must fight to survive no matter the cost. Easier said than done, so I would never criticise someone who pussied out in such a situation, but fighting like a tiger would obviously earn universal respect whereas the alternative wouldn't.
when the quality of life deteriorates to the point where she will be bed ridden, unable to take care of her own most basic needs, with a diaper on... losing dignity per say... at that point in time, elect hospice and just go with proper end of life treatment... above all things, educate about the choices and the meds... some hospice providers care little about the patient, they will just drug them up to accelerate the process and thats it... personally I find that to just be murderous if there was the possibility to improve the quality of life in a patient while keeping them free of pain... sadly, like in anything in this country or any other, the quality of care is directly related to how much money you have or spend on that care... I dont want to categorize all doctors in the same boat, but going with a hospice that is a not for profit will mean dealing with doctors that are overloaded, while going for a for profit will means you get individualized attention... anyhow... here is a good link about pain management with morphine once it comes down to it.. http://www.hospiceworld.org/book/morphine.htm
if you have a chance to live, why not take any odds? i'm a fighter, and would prefer 25% over 0%. note: yes, the exception might be if bed-ridden and in a vegetable state with zero odds of overcoming this handicap. there is 1% you will get rich trading, so why do it? 0.000001% your life will matter in 100 years, so why live it? maybe 0.005% you will die today from an accident. don't be a quitter. but don't worry, in life, nobody makes it out alive
"quoted from Trade Fighter: I choose 1, not afraid of dying, I embrace it, as it would bring me closer to the Lord." I have M.S that screw's with my body all the Trading Day. Over the last few years I get my bi-annual MRI checking after a nasty attack. I watched my brother die of pancreatic cancer over a nine month period, he was amazing, never complained because he felt he would be in God's hand soon enough. My MS is on the nasty end of the spectrum, "Lhermitte's Sign" frying electrical pain through my brain to my feet. I saw my crazy brother die with grace and diginity, he really thought he jinxed himself when his liver-blood panel test came back. He was a compuslive gambler, drug addict yet changed his life the final year on earth with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Never once did he complain of his pain, he wanted to ask "Hey, how's the trading going, you still gambling? You lost your house yet?" It was funny to allow his mind to ramble and wonder, I saw his son on Facebook, never spoke to this kid and he is posting Charts from Barcharts and Trade Station. Your question is intriguing, when Etrade sent us to the first Superbowl in 2001, I meet a trader who could only use his right arm, his left was really screwed up! Full-time nurse lived with a twenty-nine year old Trader, he was in constant pain and traded everyday! One funny thing, he said he had to take a bath because he was feeling foul and body odor was stench. He had 8000 shares of JDSU up by $11 a share, instead of selling he goes take's a bath with his hot nurse, he said "Being a fricken cripple cost me $88,000 to take a dam bath, but it was worth having my nurse slowly put me in and clean me up!" If you out still trading out there Mike from Etrade, God Bless You! We have some incredible Traders who suffer from horrible pain and emotional disorders and still get up everyday at 5am! I choose number 1, we deserve something more than horrible agony at age 71, guys like Mike who live in a wheel-chair, get boils and bed-sores, maybe I should choose number 2, 25 percent chance is not bad odds and "man it up!" like Mike and my older brother who died in Feb on his birthday 2013.
Definitely 2. 25% is a pretty big chance. Pain can be managed, I haven't had anything as bad as your relative but I was born with a bone tumor condition that caused quite a lot of discomfort and pain in my younger days. If it was a 10% chance of cure, I'd choose 1. EDIT: sorry, I didn't notice the age. At that age it makes sense to go with 1.