156 swift catastrophic illness is the exception: M.
Heron, “Deaths: Leading Causes for 2009,” National
Vital Statistics Reports 61 (2009),http://www.cdc.gov/
nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_07.pdf. See also
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development, Health at a Glance 2013,
http://www.oecd.org/els/health-systems/
health-at-a-glance.htm.
167 First,ourownviewsmaybeunrealistic:N.A.
ChristakisandE.B.Lamont,“ExtentandDeterminants
ofErrorinDoctors’PrognosesinTerminallyIllPatients:
Prospective Cohort Study,”BMJ320 (2000): 469–73.
167 Second, we oftenavoidvoicing: E. J.Gordon
and C. K. Daugherty, “‘Hitting You Over theHead’:
Oncologists’ Disclosure of Prognosis to Advanced
Cancer Patients,” Bioethics 17 (2003): 142–68; W. F.
Baileetal.,“Oncologists’AttitudesTowardandPractices
inGivingBadNews:AnExploratoryStudy,”Journalof
Clinical Oncology20 (2002): 2189–96.
170 Gould published an extraordinary essay: S. J.
Gould,“TheMedianIsn’ttheMessage,”Discover,June
1985.
174 the case of Nelene Fox: R. A. Rettig, P. D.
Jacobson,C.Farquhar,andW.M.Aubry,FalseHope:
BoneMarrowTransplantationforBreastCancer(Oxford
University Press, 2007).
175 Ten states enacted laws: Centers for Diseases
Control, “State Laws Relating to Breast Cancer,” 2000.