Palliative Care and the Tale of Two Fathers

When Peggy Maguire’s father was diagnosed with lung cancer at 48 years old, it came as a complete shock to her family. They did everything they could to fight the disease, treating him with aggressive radiation and chemotherapy. However, they felt as if “his final days were very medical in nature” and felt residual guilt afterwards, wondering if there was something they could have done differently.

Peggy's experience has fueled her passion to improve awareness of what palliative care is and how it can change the way people living with serious illness - and their family caregivers - experience health care. In this interview with StoryCorps, Peggy shares her story with Dr. Tony Back from the University of Washington.