meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
TED Health

My mother's final wish — and the right to die with dignity | Elaine Fong

TED Health

TED

Shoshana Ungerleider, Ted Shoshana, Ted Talks Health, Health & Fitness, How To Be Healthier, Medicine, Fitness

4.01.5K Ratings

🗓️ 5 April 2022

⏱️ 32 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

After a terminal cancer diagnosis upended 12 years of remission, all Elaine Fong's mother wanted was a peaceful end of life. What she received instead became a fight for the right to decide when. Fong shares the heart-rending journey to honor her mother's choice for a death with dignity -- and reflects on the need to explore our relationship to dying so that we may redesign this final and most universal of human experiences.



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Pointer, chair of Women's Health

0:06.1

and Gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. I'll be talking to top researchers

0:11.5

and clinicians and bringing vital information about midlife women's health directly to you.

0:17.0

A hundred percent of women go through menopause. Even if it's natural, why should we suffer

0:22.5

through it? Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Pointer wherever you get your

0:27.3

podcasts. This episode is brought to you by Wish You Worked Here from NHS Grampean.

0:38.2

If you're an anesthetist, you already know the thrill of being in the theater, where every decision counts.

0:44.3

But that same intensity and stress doesn't have to follow you out of the operating room.

0:49.6

At Dr. Gray's Hospital in Elgin, anesthetists don't get lost in layers of process. They make decisions at the table, where it matters. It's high-stakes work when you want it to be. But minutes later, you can be walking coastal trails, heading into the forest, or simply back home in time for dinner. This isn't about trading ambition for lifestyle. It's about finding

1:12.3

both. Hands on, not hands tied. A chance to practice medicine the way you trained for while shaping a

1:19.1

job plan that fits your interests, whether that's teaching, research, or innovation. So if you've

1:24.2

ever wondered what it would feel like to make a life, not just a living, go to

1:28.1

Wish You Worked Here. Scott and arrange a visit to see for yourself.

1:32.6

Flights and accommodation covered, that's Wish You Worked Here. Scott.

1:39.1

Welcome to the new TED Health. I'm your host, Dr. Shoshana Ungerleiter.

1:49.0

Starting today, we're launching a new season of the podcast, and it's going to be a little different. After each talk, you'll hear a short

1:53.8

reflection, a lesson or an interview related to what you heard in the talk. And we're starting with

1:59.2

this episode, because it explores an

2:01.2

issue I'm really passionate about. Something you may not know about me is that I've dedicated

2:06.3

my life's work so far to transforming how our culture thinks about it.

2:14.9

Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Pointer, chair of Women's Health

2:19.6

and Gynecology at the Atria Health Institute in New York City. I'll be talking to top researchers

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from TED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of TED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.