The Meaning of Food amongst Terminally Ill Chinese Patients and Families in Singapore

The concept of feeding at the end of life is frequently an emotive issue. Here, we present a series of cases set within Confucian inspired Singapore that highlight the various views held by local Chinese patients and their families as they confront a number of difficult issues pertaining to withdrawing and withholding feeding at the end of life. These findings are readily applicable to patients of East Asian backgrounds and help to shed light upon the competing considerations faced by patients and their families when considering the issue of feeding at the end of life.