( CNN ) It 's uncomfortable , talking about death . And that 's as true for the profession devoted to staving it off as it is for the rest of us . `` I learned about a lot of things in medical school , '' surgeon Atul Gawande begins his New York Times best-selling book , `` Being Mortal : Medicine and What Matters at the End . '' `` But mortality was n't one of them . '' In his book , Gawande , a Harvard professor who practices endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women 's Hospital in Boston , argues that health professionals -- and the rest of us -- need to change how we approach patients ' final days . `` You do n't have to spend much time with the elderly or those with terminal illness to see how often medicine fails the people it is supposed to help , '' he writes . `` The waning days of our lives are given over to treatments that addle our brains and sap our bodies for a sliver 's chance of benefit . '' Instead , Gawande proposes embracing death as normal . It `` may be the enemy , '' he writes , `` but it is also the natural order of things . '' It 's not an entirely new concept in modern medicine . Since the 1990s , the rise of hospice care and similar services has served as a stark acknowledgment that sometimes , quality of life in one 's final days is more important than last-ditch efforts to fight the inevitable . But it 's an idea that 's rapidly becoming more pertinent . In 2050 , roughly 83.7 million Americans will be over 65 -- nearly twice the number from 2012 , according to the U.S. Census Bureau . `` The projected growth of the older population in the United States will present challenges to policy makers and programs , such as Social Security and Medicare , '' said a May Census report ( PDF ) on the aging population . `` It will also affect families , businesses , and health care providers . '' The National Institute on Aging , part of the government 's National Institutes of Health , also emphasizes the importance of non-curative care in a loved one 's final days . `` When a doctor says something like , ' I 'm afraid the news is not good . There are no other treatments for us to try . I 'm sorry , ' it may close the door to the possibility of a cure , but it does not end the need for medical support , '' says an NIA guide on end-of-life care . `` Nor does it end the involvement of family and friends . There are many places and a variety of ways to provide care for an older person who is dying . Such care often involves a team . '' In his book , Gawande recalls a cancer patient who , for months , underwent one painful , potentially fatal treatment after another , when doctors knew they 'd almost certainly only cause him more discomfort while prolonging an illness that would never be cured . We need to do better , he says . `` Our reluctance to honestly examine the experience of aging and dying has increased the harm we inflict on people , '' he writes , `` and denied them the basic comforts they most need . ''
He wants us to think again about caring for the dying . He says the medical profession is n't ready to embrace the inevitable . By 2050 , 83 million people will be older than death .