rfherald, it depends on what is failing. With my father it was his heart and fluid built up. To me it seemed he drowned in the excess fluid in his lungs. The meds mostly made him not care. We still were moving him up and down and around as he was trying to get somewhere so he could breath. With my grandfather it was his kidney's. He just set in a recliner for a few days and just dried up. His meds were in liquid form as he was unresponsive, and we would use a dropper to put the meds in his mouth. There was no way to tell at least that I could see that it made any difference. I was off shift and at home when my grandfather died. My grandmother did die of cancer. Started out as breast cancer and later moved to her throat. She was in the hospital and I was with my grandfather watching her. She got out of bed and my grandfather was trying to get her back in bed. She told him they needed to get out of the hospital as they had really stepped in it this time. A nurse helped get her back in bed and my grandfather and the nurse were working on hooking the o2 back up and she passed. I told the nurse and my grandfather that she was gone. None of these were recent. A lot has most likely changed. You might reach out to your local hospice for information.

My home state just has hospice care but some states have passed death with dignity laws. I have friends in Colorado where they have this. There are other states that have this and might be worth checking to see if it is an option or not.