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| Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th
century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately
treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death
of the patient within a relatively short period of time. This
term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as
cancer or advanced heart disease than for trauma. In popular
use, it indicates a disease which will eventually end the life
of the sufferer. A patient who has such an illness may be
referred to as a terminal patient, terminally ill or simply
terminal. Often, a patient is considered to be terminally ill
when the life expectancy is estimated to be six months or less,
under the assumption that the disease will run its normal
course. The six-month standard is arbitrary, and best available
estimates of longevity may be incorrect. Consequently, though a
given patient may properly be consi