Perhaps it's a difference in culture. Every time I've been around death in the medical industry, it's disappointed me. This most recent time I was more directly involved, and the process was awful - administratively, medically (with no one doctor looking at my dad holistically), nutritionally, and empathetically (sub-par bedside manner).

I'm projecting my experience because these are structural flaws in the western medical system. At a certain point, someone approaching death becomes a burden on medical staff who are there for "treatment" only, not to provide "care" (which is left to hospice staff). Yet many people who are relegated to the latter, still need some form of treatment to feel comfortable. And the hand-off process between treatment and care (especially for in-home hospice) is mediocre at best.

Death should not be a terrifying experience. It's a fact of life. The least we can do is make the process as smooth as possible. In the U.S. at least, that process is anything but.