关于高龄恶性肿瘤与人类自然死亡

Cancer in Older Persons and Human Natural Death

“天寿癌”指的是高寿者经历漫长和满足的生命历程后平和地几乎没有痛苦地死于恶性肿瘤。癌症在高龄人群中十分常见，故高龄者死于癌症亦可被认为是一种形式的生命自然终结过程。因此，“天寿癌”的提出可能有助于老年人较实际地面对致死性肿瘤性疾病。对“天寿癌”的概念、诊断、治疗及其医学伦理学的问题进行简要的讨论。

The concept of Tenju-gann, or 'natural-end cancer' refers to the cancers in advanced age in which the patient died with minimal suffering and a feeling of familial celebration for a peaceful death after a long and fulfilling life. Cancer is quite common among aged people and cancer death in the very old can be regarded as a fact of natural termination of life. This concept of Tenju-gann may help people to deal with fatal neoplastic disease more realistically. The definition, diagnosis, treatment and ethical issue of Tenju-gann are briefly discussed.