Oh, you unthematic no-fun people. Just take the damned deaths when they come and suck it up! K, you're always on about people not using their mages in combat ... well, when they've got 3 months to live, it's additional incentive to get them to the front lines.
And what's wrong with a death wish? It's a doomed race! The land that burns brightest burns fastest, or something along those lines anyway.