End Game

End Game is a 2018 American short documentary film by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman about terminally ill patients in a San Francisco hospital meeting medical practitioners seeking to change the perception around life and death. The film was executive produced by Steven Ungerleider and Shoshana R. Ungerleider. It was released by Netflix. Synopsis The documentary begins with Dr. Pantilat, the palliative care doctor at the University of California, San Francisco, visiting terminally ill patients to speak with them about palliative care. The first patient he speaks about this with is Kym Anderson and her husband. Dr. Pantilat begins to describe palliative care as helping people live as well as possible for as long as possible; a care that focuses on not only the disease but the whole person, where there are people to help the patient with their symptoms, ensure the patient has the information they need to make complex decisions about their health, and have an extra layer of support for themselves and their family. Despite Dr. Pantilat’s attempt to bring light to palliative care, Kym and her husband do not side with palliative care as an option for Kym’s remaining time. The label the couple has associated with palliative care is “kissing it goodbye.” The documentary then proceeds to the Zen Caregiving Project, where there has been the acquisition of a new patient named Bruce. Bruce is 66 years old and has made the choice to stop dialysis. Dr. BJ Miller, a palliative care physician, and his colleagues welcome Bruce into the home. Within the Zen Caregiving Project is another patient named Pat Harris. Pat has been diagnosed with fibroids and uterus cancer. Despite the circumstances, Pat mentions she is doing well, as she has people in the Zen Caregiving Project who help her watch the symptoms she experiences and understand what is right or wrong with it, people that give her medicine and monitor it, so she does not have to do it alone. Pat then goes onto describe a possible treatment to prolong her life in chemotherapy. To assist Pat with her decision, registered nurses from the palliative care team help Pat weigh out her options. Ultimately, Pat decides to accept the chemotherapy treatment in an attempt to prolong her life.