Whose Body Is It, Anyway? Summary and Analysis

Gawnde discusses choices and informed decisions in "Whose Body Is It, Anyway?" First he highlights the case of Joseph Lazaroff, a man with an untreatable cancer. Lazaroff opts for a risky surgery to help delay paralysis, despite doctor's warnings. As a patient, Lazaroff had the right to choose his course of care, however Gawande felt as though Lazaroff did not hear what the doctors told him about the realities of the surgery. Therefore, that information was not factored into his decision.

Gawande clarifies that he did not think that Lazaroff made a bad choice because he did not agree with the doctors, but rather that Lazaroff's choice did not agree with what Lazaroff wanted. Gawande ponders whether the doctors should have even told him about the surgical option and reveals that, because a...