Final Victory : Taking Charge of the Last Stages of Life, Facing Death on Your Own Terms

Let's face it, we're all going to die eventually. Dying, after all, is a part of natural life. Unfortunately, modern medicine has turned this natural process into an experience that is often traumatic and painful not only to patients, but also to their loved ones. According to Thomas A. Preston, M.D., a nationally respected patients' rights advocate, it doesn't have to be this way.





"Read this book. Make use of what you learn. Pass it on."

— Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten






In Final Victory, Dr. Preston shows how you can take charge of life's end and set the stage for a peaceful, dignified death. He gives you invaluable information on the dying process, the limits of modern medicine, and what living wills can and cannot accomplish. He describes which treatments reduce suffering, which extend it, and how far doctors can legally go to reduce pain. You will discover how to accept a serious diagnosis, how to understand life-expectancy statistics, how to decide among treatment options, how to talk with your doctors and your loved ones, and how to take charge of the medical decisions that will profoundly affect you and those you will leave behind.


Final Victory may be the most important book you or a loved one will ever read.

Thomas A. Preston, M.D., is professor of medicine at the University of Washington. Although he has retired from active practice, he continues to teach classes to medical students.

In an effort to help alleviate suffering, he decided to forgo his training in electrical engineering and become a doctor. In his medical career he has attained many honors. He was named Outstanding Clinical Teacher four times at the University of Washington Medical School and Best Teacher two times at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Some of his other honors include awards from the American College of Cardiology and the National Association of Science Writers. For three decades, he practiced and taught cardiology first at the University of Michigan and then at the University of Washington.

He has appeared as a medical expert on numerous national television programs, including 60 Minutes, Good Morning America, CBS Morning News, NBC Nightly News, ABC Evening News, McNeil/Lehrer Report, Face The Nation, Nova, and a PBS special on health. His articles about medicine have appeared in publications such as the New York Times, Newsweek, Atlantic Monthly, Washington Post, and Readers' Digest.

He has written two other books, Coronary Artery Surgery: A Critical Review regarding the overuse of operations and The Clay Pedestal which focuses on the medical profession. Dr. Preston lives in Seattle, Washington