Notes On Symptom Control In Hospice Palliative Care

Dame Cicely Saunders, founder and president of St. Christopher's Hospice in London (1967), shares her vision of hospice and palliative care, and discusses lessons to be learned from the dying.

"Over the centuries healers have been called upon to palliate, or "make better," myriad afflictions. Only in recent times has the notion arisen that our primary goal is to identify and cure diseases, thereby prolonging life and, presumably, preventing distressing symptoms and associated suffering. The medical advances made in recent decades are indeed so astonishing that one could almost forgive those who would hope that a cure-based medical system might eliminate scourges such as pain, chronic illness, and the debilitations of old age. However, we remain mortal. I recall a scene from Bernado Bertolucci's film Little Buddha in which a child sits with a wise, old monk looking out over a bustling city in Nepal. "What is impermanence?" asks the child. The monk answers, "See these people. All of us and all the people alive today. One hundred years from now we'll all be dead. That is impermanence." Intellectually, I understand the truth of this statement. However that more than 6 billion people will die in a period of 100 years is beyond my comprehension"--

Originally published as a series of articles in Missouri medicine.

Hospice and Palliative Care: Concepts and Practice, Second Edition offers theoretical perspectives and practical information about this growing field. Contributing authors from a variety of backgrounds working in end-of-life care present a historical overview of hospice and explain how the interdisciplinary team functions in the hospice setting. They then discuss challenges to the team including symptom management, death education, ethical issues, and support groups. The future of hospice is addressed in the final part of the book. The contributors are experts in community medical care, geriatric care, nursing care, pain management, research, counseling, and hospice management.

Rev. ed of: The hospice companion / Perry G. Fine. 2008.

The Hospice Companion is a guide to the processes of care during the intensive, interpersonal experiences of hospice work. This resource highlights the mission and values of modern-day hospice through the individual and combined efforts of the field's most valuable asset, the hospice professional. This easy-to-navigate clinical decision support tool for caregivers of those with life-limiting illnesses allows for personal and professional growth and a deeply gratifying sense of accomplishment as you proceed in the all-important work of caring for the dying. The third edition of The Hospice Companion features a thoroughly current guide to clinical processes and symptom management, providing hospice professionals with a concise summary of changes that have influenced clinical practice over the last several years. Moreover, feedback from hospice social workers has been incorporated into the section on personal, social, and environmental processes and guidance on integrative and non-pharmacologic interventions have been added.