You raise important questions here. I don't think life just for its own sake is much of a value for me. I spent many years caring for aged parents and in-laws with dementia and very restricted lives. Frankly I would not do difficult and painful treatments for more of that "life." However, treatment, risk, evaluation, and values are up to each individual. And thank goodness--because we are not all the same. I find our society has an almost pathological fear of death--I'm guessing more so than a century or two ago when medicine wasn't as advanced and perhaps folks were more accepting. I try to respect the choices of others and hope they'll respect mine. My radiation oncologist called me a "minimalist"--and I appreciated that he could see, and actually accept that. For breast cancer I had 3, not 6, weeks of radiation. I'm satisfied with the course I took, and will continue to be moderate. It's not so much anxiety about side effects, but trying to be realistic about the "cost" of treatment versus outcome.