Contrary to political and religious hyperbole and extremism, end of life discussions provide positive and loving ways to prevent needless suffering. They empower each of us to decide and declare our desires regarding our care as we approach the end of our life. Please support these. Daily in hospice care I see great pain and suffering caused by medical interventions that, from the start, predictably fail given the frail physical condition of my patients. Inevitably, there is a point in time when aggressively treating illness prolongs suffering. There is a definitive difference between a sick body and a dying body. One can hope to make a sick body well, or at the least, maintain quality of life by aggressively treating disease processes. A dying body is different: one cannot turn a dying body into a sick body. For one who is dying, comfort measures are the only means of ensuring life's quality. And the way to ensure this is by having open, honest dialogue with health care providers through end of life discussions. Interestingly, it is known that those who have hospice care live longer, and presumably better, than those who do not.