Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network

National Volunteer Week: Don George

Volunteers are a vital component of palliative care programs, enabling organisations to deliver services to people living with a life limiting illness and their families that paid staff alone could not. Services are diverse including transporting people to and from appointments, writing peoples life stories and respite.

Palliative Care Victoria has recently profiled a number of volunteers as part of its soon to be released Palliative Care Volunteering Strategy 2013 -2016…more

From ehospice’s Australia edition.

Obitcheery – an initiative by the Lien Foundation

The Lien Foundation wants to change the way people view newspaper advertisements about death. It thinks obituaries and death anniversary advertisements can be more cheerful and celebrate the lives of those who have passed on, instead of just listing the names of those left behind.

Here are 3 articles for your reading:

• 坚强面对癌魔 - 妇女自选遗照
• 希望改变对死亡的文化和看法 - 连氏基金赞助追思广告
• Obituaries celebrate lives of loved ones

“Obitcheery” is one of many meaningful initiatives led by the Lien Foundation, a Singapore philanthropic house noted for its brand of radical philanthropy.  More information can be obtained from this website www.obitcheery.com

A good death

During end of life care, by actively deciding to die at home, or choosing to be cognitively aware while having your existential and psychological pain managed, or even just choosing to be proactive in your care is your choice as a patient. This is referred to as ‘conscious dying’ or ‘a good death’.

The idea is not new, Aldous Huxley wrote about a Centre for Conscious Dying in his novel Island (1962). What is noteworthy within the Australian community is the service gap in this area…more

An article from ehospice.

Palliative sedation in advanced cancer patients: Does it shorten survival time? – A systematic review

Patients with advanced cancer often suffer from multiple refractory symptoms in the terminal phase of their life. Palliative sedation is one of the few ways to relieve this refractory suffering.  This systematic review investigated the effect of palliative sedation on survival time in terminally ill cancer patients…more

An article from IJPC.

Monsoon magic in Kerala!

Braving the heat of the days in the hottest months of April and May, the members of ‘Footprints’ are also weaving their dreams of monsoon – the season which soothes their lives.  Coming after a long and hot summer, the onset of monsoon is long-awaited and a refreshing change. Quenching the thirst of the land and healing with a cool breeze, monsoon also offers members of the Footprints project – whose lives are confined to wheelchairs – a means for living.  Monsoon season in Kerala is the peak time for the sale of the product they make- umbrellas…more
An article from ehospice.

Crossing continents…only to find familiar grounds

My recent visit to Singapore was at the invitation of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics (CBmE), at the National University of Singapore, and the Lien Centre for Palliative Care (Duke-NUS).  The experience reinforced the view that, cultural differences aside and also taking into account the differences from one country to another in the provision and delivery of health and social services, there remains much common ground in the global effort to improve the quality of care for those living with a terminal illness – both patient and family…full article

By Barry R Ashpole, Communications Consultant and Educator, Ontario, Canada.  Barry publishes Media Watch, an annotated listing of current articles and reports that may be of interest to those working in hospice, and palliative and end of life care.  International in scope and intended as an advocacy and research tool, the weekly report is posted on the website of the International Palliative Care Resource Centre.

Calling a spade a spade

Kaye Sales has been diagnosed with terminal peritoneal mesothelioma and as she enters her final months of life, she describes the support and care she has received from palliative care services in her home town on Bunbury, Western Australia and speaks openly about her experiences with end of life care…more

“I have seen quite a few aspects of palliative care, I’ve been to pastoral care and I’m currently visiting the social worker and I have the home visits at this stage from the nursing staff and I’ve found in each and every case, they’re extremely well trained and very supportive.” – Kaye Sales

An article from ehospice.