/palliativecare/articles/rss en /palliativecare/article/letter-chair-memory-dr-balfour-mount On Thursday evening, at approximately 10 PM, Dr. Balfour Mount died in the Palliative Care Unit that bears his name at the Royal Victoria Hospital of the ɬ�﷬ Health Centre. He led a remarkable life and a celebrated career as the “father” of palliative care. He was 86 years old. In the days that come, there is much that will be said and remembered about “Bal,” as he was known in this community and beyond. There are countless recipients of this letter who knew Bal better and for much longer than I. However, I want to take this opportunity to write not of his accomplishments – including, perhaps, anyone who reads this letter – but of what lessons I believe he still has to teach us. Mon, 29 Sep 2025 14:55:05 +0000 Justin Sanders 1795 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/substance-abuse-disorder-palliative-care-and-humanity-insights-dr-marie-helene-marchand Dr. Marie-Hélène Marchand is a family doctor at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital specializing in palliative care and working in addiction medicine at CLSC Hochelaga. She is the co-founder of Project Maison Mobile, which focuses on providing palliative care to the homeless population of Montréal. On Palliative Care ɬ�﷬’s Continuing Professional Development Day (November 21st, 2025), Dr. Marchand will be giving a (hybrid) talk on Palliative Care and Substance Use Disorder, which discusses the treatment approaches for palliation in patients with a history of substance use disorder. Thu, 04 Sep 2025 17:53:53 +0000 Vanessa Ruan 1789 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/qa-harvey-max-chochinov-intensive-caring-intensive-suffering Ahead of his September 17th lecture, “Dignity, Personhood and Intensive Suffering: New Insights into Patient Suffering,” part of the ɬ�﷬ Palliative Care National Grand Rounds Programme, Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, PhD, FRCPC, sat down with Devon Phillips to share his thoughts after many years in the field of palliative care as a Distinguished Professor, Senior Scientist and Researcher. Thu, 04 Sep 2025 13:52:37 +0000 Devon Phillips 1787 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/qa-dr-marian-grant-why-serious-illness-messaging-matters At a glance, Marian Grant’s path to palliative care seems unconventional. Fresh out of college, she worked at P&G and eventually was “a brand manager in the company that invented brand” before pivoting to nursing. However, her career shift was not as odd as her marketing colleagues initially believed. Dr. Grant’s marketing acumen and understanding of consumer needs informs her advocacy for improved outreach to the public about palliative care. As our June National Grand Rounds speaker, Dr. Grant brings us her those insights in the St. Mary’s Hospital Lecture. Wed, 28 May 2025 18:33:07 +0000 alexandra.frail@mcgill.ca 1784 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/qa-zelda-freitas-understanding-caregiver-grief-anticipatory-and-post-caregiving-grief Where do caregivers turn after their loved one passes on? What support is there when the caregiving team disbands? These are the difficult questions caregivers face at the start of the bereavement process. To address these overlooked issues, Zelda Freitas, a social worker from Caregiver Grief Connexion and member of the ɬ�﷬ Council on Palliative Care, aims to use her years of work in palliative care, caregiving, and grief to educate. Together, with research-practitioner and associate professor at the ɬ�﷬ School of Social Work, Professor Pam Orzeck, the Caregiver Grief Connexion will provide insights into the issues of caregiver grief and available resources at Palliative Care ɬ�﷬’s upcoming National Palliative Care Week. Thu, 24 Apr 2025 17:19:25 +0000 alexandra.frail@mcgill.ca 1775 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/what-iaphc-can-do-you The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) is a global, nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement and development of palliative care. Sign up for its communications to receive global palliative care advocacy news, advocacy opportunities, practitioner and caregivers' wisdom, alerts for open-access webinars, and more. Wed, 23 Apr 2025 19:37:34 +0000 The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care 1773 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/what-cpd-day-can-do-you Biennially, Palliative Care ɬ�﷬ hosts Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Day, a full-day workshop for healthcare professionals to network, enhance their skills, and stay up to date on the latest palliative care developments. Bringing together professionals from across the medical world, CPD Day has been a valuable learning opportunity since its inception. Golda Tradounsky, MD, Team Leader of Palliative Care Services at Mount Sinai Hospital, provides more insight into everything 2025’s edition of this event has to offer. Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:42:32 +0000 alexandra.frail@mcgill.ca 1765 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/cosmic-museum-farewell In January 2025, we caught up with Lynne Cooper—Cultural Mediator, Mum, Spoken-Word Artist, Actor, Clown and Community Outreach Coordinator for Castelier, the Montreal Puppet House. Along with her artist colleagues of Le Trunk Collectif, they embarked on the Cosmic Procession of Farewell, which was featured in our December 2021 issue. Since then, the annual cortège continues to touch hearts and draw communities together through what Lynne describes as “our common denominator”—loss. Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:31:07 +0000 Carmon Dangerfield 1763 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/clown-doctor-dark-humorist-sandy-el-bitar-role-comedy-grief-management What does it feel like to perform in front of an audience who might be having their last show in life? “I was excited,” Sandy said. “Not because I was happy, but because this might be the last time they would have this activity or that visit or that cup of tea. I wanted to be the best cup of tea, the one that they loved the most.” Sandy El Bitar was a clown doctor in Lebanon before she came to Canada sixteen years ago. She then worked in retirement homes and a palliative care life enrichment department. Now in Montreal, she is a drama therapist, an artist, and a comedian who uses humor to guide people to cope with grief. She is continuously researching and practicing out-of-the box approaches to offer more accessible and embodied therapeutic work. Who she is now is the culmination of her richly varied life experiences. Tue, 15 Apr 2025 15:05:23 +0000 Vanessa Ruan 1761 at /palliativecare /palliativecare/article/island-listeners-stories-palliative-care-unit All stories have an end, and at the end, all we have are stories. But for many at the end of life, these stories never leave the palliative care unit. That is where blind professional storyteller Kim Kilpatrick and mixed media artist Rachel Gray come in. As disabled artists, Kim and Rachel are uniquely attuned to the importance of bringing these stories to light in an accessible, multi-sensory way. To kick of National Palliative Care Week 2025, Kim and Rachel will share their film project, Island of Listeners. Wed, 23 Apr 2025 15:31:32 +0000 alexandra.frail@mcgill.ca 1771 at /palliativecare