One of the times my husband was on the oncology unit, a man across the hallway was dying of lung cancer. He had very loud, raspy, gasps for breaths that sounded like he was being strangled. We could hear it clearly with both doors closed. This went on for at least two days before the breaths finally stopped. Rush Limbaugh's circumstances may have been different but, for what it's worth, this guy's death seemed like an extremely drawn-out and painful way to die.