A program of active compassionate care primarily directed towards improving the quality of life for the dying.
Dame Cicely Saunders, who in the late 1960s pioneered palliative care units, or hospices for the terminally ill in the United Kingdom, speaks of it as, "ELC - efficient loving care." Her philosophy and methods of care for dying patients have spread to all parts of the world.
The supporters of palliative care say... Canadians must not believe the lie that they are faced with a choice between a quick good death and a slow painful death. Palliative care has demonstrated to the world that the pain and other symptoms of advanced disease can be relieved. The methods to relieve suffering are available now.
Bridget Campion, "Taking the Final Steps to a 'Good Death'," The Globe and Mail, November 19, 1993
We have to make it possible for people to die "well" in our hospitals. We must examine the components of a "good death": having the opportunity to be with family, to make peace, to be free of pain, perhaps even to be released from the confines of a traditional hospital room and routine ... this has been happening for some time in palliative care, a speciality in health care that attends exclusively to the dying.
John Scott, M.D., "Cancer Pain: a Monograph on the Management of Cancer Pain," Health and Welfare Canada, Ottawa, 1984 (Cat. No. H4225).
"Suffering and Lament" As we watch suffering, we too share in the lament. When death approaches, we cry out and at times even cry out for death, but we must reject the temptation to kill. Hear the cry of life at the heart of the lament. Neither physician nor legislator must presumptuously respond to the lament by silencing the one who issues the cry.
John Scott, M.D., Head of Palliative Medicine, University of Ottawa
The goal of palliative care The goal of those involved in offering palliative care is to relieve pain and thus to reduce the great fear of pain that is sometimes associated with dying. It is this fear which drives people to accept euthanasia as the only available option. ... "Palliative care is committed to healing, and that is something different from curing. Healing is to make a person whole, to relieve suffering and to give the individual a sense of who he or she is as a person. Palliative care is person-centred, not disease-centred." (Dr. Larry Librach of the Mount Sinia Hospital palliative care team)
"Comfort and Dignity: Care of the Terminally Ill in Ontario," Ontario Advisory Council on Senior Citizens, Position Paper, June 1991, p. 4.
"Palliative Care is not passive euthanasia. At the heart of Palliative Care is the affirmation of life, not the choosing of death."
John Scott, M.D., Submission to the legislative committee on Bill C203, November 19, 1991, p. 1.
Palliative care and pain control Physicians, nurses, and patients must be aware that psychological and physical dependence on pain medication are distinct phenomena. Contrary to widely shared misunderstanding, psychological dependence on pain medication rarely occurs in terminally ill patients."
Executive Summary, When Death is Sought: Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia in the Medical Context, The New York Task Force on Life and the Law, May, 1994.
Victoria Order of Nurses
Middlesex-Elgin Branch
200-1152 Florence Street
London, ON N5W 2M7
The VON has a Palliative Care Program available in Elgin County. They will provide support and care to those in need. They provide active, compassionate care to individuals and families facing a life-threatening illness. Call them at 631-3270 or 637-6408.
Palliative Care: Related Sites
cpca.net
The Canadian Palliative Care Association provides leadership in palliative care for persons approaching death so that the burdens of suffering, loneliness, and grief are lessened.
growthhouse.org
A gateway to resources for life-threatening illnesses and end of life care, with an emphasis on public education on the quality of compassionate care for people who are dying.
A program of active compassionate care primarily directed towards improving the quality of life for the dying.