Mount Hope Hospice

One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die

One Man’s Quest to Change the Way We Die How B.J. Miller, a doctor and triple amputee, used his own experience to pioneer a new model of palliative care at a small, quirky hospice in San Francisco.

Timeline photos

CLEARING OUT the HOUSE

Going through people’s things after they’ve died or become completely incapacitated can be a very emotional process.
Follow this LINK to see what other caregivers have to say:
http://thecaregiverspace.org/clearing-out-the-house/

Timeline photos

Timeline photos

Timeline photos

Learning to forgive myself | The Caregiver Space

Learning to forgive myself | The Caregiver Space Do you feel like you’re doing the best you can, all the time? No matter how hard I try, it gets to me sometimes. Love alone isn’t enough for me to not lose my cool. Maybe it should be. Maybe it is for you. (is it?). But the pressure mounts…the bills are piling up, insurance …

Timeline photos

Consider this when you think about the many marks cancer can leave on the body, but also on the soul of anyone living with the disease.

Dignity Trailer

the ABCD of DIGNITY CARE

We all know the ABC of resuscitation to stand for Airway - Breathing - Circulation.
But what about the ABCD of Dignity Care?
Following our previous post on the importance of dignity in palliative care, watch this VIDEO for some thought provoking ideas.

Dignity Trailer The highlights reel of the Dignity in Care video.

How to uphold patient dignity at the end of life - Palliative Care

How to uphold patient dignity at the end of life - Palliative Care At the end of life, dignity is a concept often associated with bodily functions. More powerful however is how patients believes they are seen by others.

community involvement

SOS: CAREGIVER in DISTRESS

Caregiving is tough, no matter how much you care for your diseased loved one.
Follow this LINK to some practical advice for coping when you are caring for someone who is seriously ill.
http://thecaregiverspace.org/when-you-feel-stressed/

To all those who will be touched by cancer in the year to come.
May you be brave.

community involvement

the GIFT
“You know how people say things and it just rubs you the wrong way sometimes?
Like ‘Cancer is a gift.’
I don’t know what kind of a crappy gift giver you are but I am sure that no matter how bad your taste cancer most certainly is NOT a gift. But, when you wade through the flood waters you will find that although cancer itself is not a gift, it most certainly gives you things.” Read more by following this LINK:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ashford-evans/what-i-didnt-expect-to-get-from-cancer_b_9526184.html?utm_hp_ref=power-of-humanity

YOU AND PALLIATIVE CARE
With palliative care, there is a focus on relieving troubling symptoms and meeting your emotional, spiritual, and practical needs. In short, it is care that aims to improve your quality of life - however you define that for yourself.
Read more on when palliative care is appropriate by following this LINK: http://www.webmd.com/palliative-care/when-is-palliative-care-appropriate

community involvement

We posted last week on the concept of resilience.
A true example is the life of Sargy Mann (1937-2015). Mann went totally blind at age 68, after suffering from congenital eye problems, cataracts as well as retinal and corneal complications later in life. This, however, did not stop him from painting.
It was with growing blindness that Mann seemed to find his own voice. “The paintings I made [after 1988] were better than the ones I did before, when I had sight,” he said in 2005.
Watch the amazing video on his life and work posted below.

BEING RESILIENT
“Resilience: the creation of meaning in life, even life that is sometimes painful or absurd, and having the courage to live fully despite its inherent pain and futility.”
Follow the LINK to the thoughts of a nurse (who is also a wife, a daughter, a sister and a friend) on the beauty of resilience.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sonja-mitrevskaschwartzbach-bsn-rn-ccrn/the-beauty-of-resilience_b_9513394.html?utm_hp_ref=power-of-humanity

MANAGING PAIN
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness, one of the first things you may wonder about is pain. How much pain are you likely to be in? How will you cope with it? What can your doctors do about it?
Read more on the pharmaceutical management of pain by following this LINK:
http://www.webmd.com/palliative-care/pain-medications-medications-for-palliative-care

inspirational thoughts

ANTICIPATORY GRIEF
People caring for someone with an incurable illness may start feeling the pain of their future loss even though the loved one is still alive.
This is a natural, expected response and recognised as a distinct form of grieving.
Learn more about anticipatory grief by following this LINK:
http://www.webmd.com/palliative-care/caregiver-grief-and-bereavement

A big THANK YOU to Roof Handler for their generous donation. Our thanks also to the sponsors Palram and Corroshield, as well as to each and every participant in the Charity Golf Day.
Please know that your support is deeply appreciated!

In October, we held our Charity Golf Day in aid of Mount Hope Hospice - a local NGO offering home-based care services to cancer patients. Thanks to the support of everyone who participated, we raised a total of R4,500. Lisa visited the Hospice this week to hand over the donation to Director and Resident Oncologist, Elre van Heerden.

inspirational thoughts

DISCUSSING SYMPTOMS AND SIDE-EFFECTS
Reporting symptoms and side effects is not a sign of weakness.
There is no winning or losing against the effects that accompany a disease like cancer. There is only managing and treating them.
Follow this LINK to learn more about discussing symptoms and side-effects with your doctor:
http://copingmag.com/cwc/index.php/search/articles/how_are_you_really#.WCs-Vz3Yr44.facebook

Follow this link to learn more on the nature of palliative care:

http://www.curetoday.com/publications/cure/2012/fall2012/palliative-care-a-cloak-of-comfort

inspirational thoughts

inspirational thoughts

Touched by the support from Roof Handler!
May you have the best of days.

Next week, we are hosting a Charity Golf Day in aid of Mount Hope Hospice. The event, which has been kindly sponsored by Palram and Corroshield, will see 40 guests completing the short-course at Sedgefield Links Golf Club. All proceeds from the day will be donated to the George-based hospice, which provides home-based palliative care to cancer patients.

Cannot agree more!
As Dr.Weingarten also said: HOPE is UBUNTU

The Institute presented a lecture on Hope and the Cancer Experience at GVI Oncology last week. The slide shown here refers to the work done by Dr. Kaethae Weingarten.
Dr. Weingarten is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School. She works with people who witnessed violence, but she is also a breast cancer survivor, having faced cancer 3 times, and has written extensively about these experiences.

How you can participate in World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

Some more information on pain and the availability of pain medication

Saturday 8th October 2016 is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
It is a day to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care services around the world.
The theme for 2016 is LIVING AND DYING IN PAIN: IT DOESN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN.
This is a critically important issue, please show your support by sharing this post!