To view this page ensure that Adobe Flash Player version 11.1.0 or greater is installed.
Vital Signs
S P R I NG 2 0 1 3 | V O L U M E 5 8
F E AT U R E S T O R I E S
TomoTherapy for Cancer
Page 4
Rheumatology Page 6
Q&A: Quality Healthcare
Page 8
Community Calendar
Page 12
Life-saving Technologies Raise Critical Ethical Issues
Remarkable advances in technology have made it possible for medical teams at major
centers such as UCLA to save the lives of patients who in years past would have had little
to no chance for survival. In some cases, such treatments carry the hope of restoring very
sick patients to relatively normal lives. But such scenarios can also raise difficult ethical
questions, particularly when a treatment has a low likelihood of success but a substantial
chance of leaving the patient with an unacceptable quality of life. In such cases, it’s
important for patients and their families to talk with their doctors ahead of time so that
Continued on page 7