Patients

Cultural wishes respected in end-of-life care

24 June 2021

My parents were born in Naples, in the south of Italy. After my mum passed away in 2013 in Italy, my dad lived in Sydney with my brother Joe. A couple of years ago, at 87 years of age, dad started complaining of […]
Palliative care at home in the bush

3 June 2021

If given the choice, most Australians with a life-limiting illness would prefer to be cared for, and to die at home. For people living in rural and remote locations, where a medical appointment may be […]
Marc’s Story – His journey with Lissencephaly

31 March 2021

When Marc was born on January 8th, 2012, he was a perfectly healthy newborn baby boy with blonde hair and big blue eyes… and a lifetime of adventures before him. The first few months of […]
Talking about end-of-life care in ICU

25 March 2021

As the Australian populations ages, more Australians get admitted to hospital with increasingly complex needs. Many of these patients will sadly die after hospital admission. Whether they reach the end of their life in ICU, […]
The other half of palliative care

4 February 2021

David Baxter was by his widowed mother’s side in her bed when she died on 9 April 2020. She went as peacefully as possible, her head resting on David’s shoulder. Her pain was under control, […]
Research project to evaluate impact of handover bags: A 10-minute survey

10 September 2020

Have you ever wondered what happens to a loved one’s possessions when they die in hospital, hospice or residential aged care facility? Often, their objects are returned to families in any available plastic bag, sometimes […]
Dance makes it all better (almost): remembering Jules Domigan

24 May 2020

What do you when you’re 35 years old and in palliative care during COVID-19? You dance, of course. Why? “Because you can’t choose what happens to you in life but you can choose how you […]
Music Therapy at home during COVID-19

7 May 2020

The richness of the Bear Cottage culture has made it possible for me to transition to providing online Zoom music therapy sessions with an ease which has taken me by surprise. Working from home, as […]
Sharing Sam’s end-of-life story to help others…

26 August 2019

Back in 2017 Lorna Hurst shared her very personal story with Palliative Matters about her son Sam’s bowel cancer diagnosis, treatment and death at just 17 years-of-age. Lorna has now generously agreed her to share […]
The day before Sarah Williams died her family made her wedding wish come true

18 July 2019

Sarah Williams wanted what so many of us already have — an education and to be married with a family of her own. Instead, she died from cancer at 33 before having the chance to legally marry […]