Two questions come to my mind:
1. Why does the treatment cost so much?
2. What is a rational limit of other peoples,' to be spent by insurance to prolong the life of a seriously ill patient?
We do know that around 1/2 of medical expenditures come in the last few month's of the lives of the elderly.
My MIL died May 15th. She was 90, and had undergone a 13 hour surgery 28 days prior. She died from one of several complications.
She had neuropathy, diabetes, a pacemaker, nearly deaf. Her mind was sharp. She and her children made an informed decision for her to have the surgery.
She was being treated for a rare type of cancer. The initial diagnosis was for surgery, but the doctor said she should instead have radiation, since he warned she might not survive surgery.
She did several weeks of painful radiation, but it did not stop the tumor's growth. Hence the next option in finding a surgeon that would do the surgery.
I watched all of this from the distance of near family, by marriage. She stayed in my home often during her last few years. She complained just a little about her various health problems.
We miss her. But she generated some very big costs for her insurance carrier, those last few months.
