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Living with DyingArrow
Age 81-90
Interview 38  

Interview 38

Age at Interview: 84
Sex: Male
Age at Diagnosis: 82
Background: Retired, married, 3 children
Brief outline:Diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2001, and unsuccessfully treated with a bladder infusion of BCG. Offered radiotherapy but declined because it was thought that treatment might affect mobility (due to polyneuropathy diagnosed in 1994).


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Talks about the practicalities of leaving his body for anatomical science.

 



Yes, we are doing a bit to try and put things in order for my wife. We've brought out a draft plan of a memorial service. I've left my body to anatomical science so there won't be a personal funeral but we might perhaps attend a general memorial service in London University. The anatomists there hold a service periodically for the relatives of all the people who've given their relatives bodies and we attended that once and we were very impressed. The professor of anatomy spoke in the pulpit and said how useful it was and so on and it was all discussed completely openly there, which I think, was very healthy.

If you wish to give your body to medical science, how do you go about arranging that?

There is a person in the Civil Service in London called the Inspector of Anatomy and one's GP can get in touch with him and say that this is what one wants to do. It depends where in the country you are, what actually happens. Here we're in a university town with a medical school. I've been directly in touch with the professor of anatomy and genetics here and I exchange correspondence with him from time to time.

If one lives in some remote part then the Inspector will see where there is an appropriate medical school then the people take complete charge. They send an undertaker to remove the body and the relatives don't have an expense for that and then in due course the medical school holds a sort of general funeral service for body parts and so you know it's all very tastefully done and more people ought to be encouraged to do this actually.

How does your family feel about that?

Well they've taken it in their stride.
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