World hospice and palliative care news roundup – 26 October 2015

Categories: Care.

The deviousness of dementia

The Guardian

When memory disappears, something more than memory gets lost. This is how a world begins to unravel – and how caregivers unwittingly become part of the chaos.

People can raise pain threshold by altering brain chemistry, study shows

Health Canal

Scientists at The University of Manchester have shown for the first time that the numbers of opiate receptors in the brain increases to combat severe pain in arthritis sufferers.

Many seriously ill Americans lack access to palliative care

USA – Reuters

Millions of Americans suffering from serious illness lack access to care that could improve their quality of life by relieving pain and other symptoms, a study finds.

Breast cancer hospice coming soon

Barbados Today

Barbados could have a hospice for breast cancer management and care by 2017, obstetrician and gynaecologist Dr Shirley Hanoman-Jhagroo has revealed.

Terminally ill Helen Kelly calls for better access to ‘basic’ drugs 

New Zealand – Stuff.co.nz

Terminally ill Helen Kelly is one of many New Zealanders cashing up her KiwiSaver to pay for medical ‘basics’, which she says the public health system is failing to stump up.

Healthcare professionals pilot home-based care system for advanced dementia patients

Singapore – Channel News Asia

A team of healthcare professionals is pioneering a home-based care system for persons with advanced end-stage dementia. 

Handling cancer in cases where there is no cure

Uganda – AllAfrica

After all hope is gone for a cure, when thousands of shillings have been spent and there is nowhere else to turn, most cancer patients turn towards palliative care where they receive medicine to help them reduce the pain that comes with the disease.

A new app lets you set your end of life preferences while on the go

USA – Boston.com

Apps help smartphone users pay bills, schedule appointments, and look for romance anytime, anywhere. Now, a Boston-based app wants to help people make end of life decisions with the same convenience.

Philip Nitschke agrees to stop providing advice on assisted suicide

The Australian

Euthanasia campaigner Dr Philip Nitschke has agreed to stop providing advice on assisted suicide or spruik his controversial end of life handbook, ending a 15-month legal dispute with medical boards.

French ‘euthanasia’ doctor gets symbolic suspended sentence

France – The Telegraph

A doctor who ended the lives of seven terminally ill patients is handed a lenient sentence amid increasing public support for euthanasia

Not enough doctors to staff Belgium’s euthanasia commission

Belgium – BioEdge 

Belgium’s Federal Evaluation and Control Commission for Euthanasia has lost its mandate after failing to find replacements for vacancies on its executive committee. 

My mother’s good death in India

The Guardian

Jon Magidsohn’s mother fell in love with India after a reluctant trip to see him there. It was to be a fitting end to her life

A woman who contributed to the development of palliative care: A tribute to Mrs Loredana Floriani

EAPC blog

Professor Augusto Caraceni, Director of Palliative Care, Pain Therapy Rehabilitation and Virgilio Floriani Hospice at the National Cancer Institute of Milan, Italy, remembers the life and contribution of Mrs Loredana Floriani.

Festival revives traditions of remembrance

ehospice UK

Next week, 1 to 7 November, people across Scotland are being invited to take time out to remember friends and family that have died, as part of To Absent Friends, a nationwide festival of storytelling and remembrance.

10 minutes with Nikki Johnston

ehospice Australia

Nikki Johnston is a palliative care nurse practitioner at Clare Holland House in Canberra.

Memories of a Caregiver – Honoring Voices: Life After Caregiving

ehospice Canada

This fall, we are profiling four caregivers in a special feature called Memories of a Caregiver. Use the hashtag #MemoriesOfACaregiver on social media to discover online discussions about this project.

Let’s All Raise Our Glasses to Hope for Cancer Kids

ehospice Kenya

The room is full of phone calls, greetings and chit chats, people catching up from the time they have not been together. Smiling and welcoming guests as they take to their seats with one agenda in mind, Hope for Cancer Kids.

“Wrap it in Pink for Cancer.”

ehospice South Africa

The Rotary club in Amanzimtoti has once again decided this year to “WRAP” Trees in pink.

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