End-of-life care hard to broach even as Thai population ages rapidly

Culture and tradition stand in the way of discussions, but a cafe in Bangkok pushes the envelope

- Tan Tam Mei

BANGKOK In Thailand, death is still a taboo subject, but the topic of palliative care has recently come under the spotlight after a widely shared farewell post by a young doctor with terminal lung cancer.

On Nov 2, Dr Krittai Tanasombatkul, 29, announced that he "should be going" in mid-December.

"I won't be able to stay long. If anyone has something they want to say, please tell me," wrote Dr Krittai on his Facebook page. He had earlier in 2023 released a memoir about his battle with cancer.

His Facebook post and other similar posts on social media platforms have since garnered more than 300,000 views and been shared about 60,000 times. Besides showing support for Dr Krittai, many netizens also revealed their thoughts about the fragility of life and having a dignified death.

Mr Ekkapop Sittiwantana, a cofounder of Peaceful Death, a nongovernmental organisation which aims to raise public awareness about end-of-life preparations and palliative care, calls this a positive moment for the conversation about death.

"If you do not talk about death, you cannot plan, and that creates a lot of complications for the patient, family and doctors," he said.

As Thailand becomes one of the fastest-ageing populations in the world, with nearly one-fifth of its 70 million citizens above 60, the demand for geriatric medicine as well as elder and palliative care has grown.

Compared with five years ago, the field of palliative care has grown as more medical workers and hospitals focus on this area of medicine, said palliative care physician Itthipon Wongprom.