Pallium India Newsletter: June 2011

  • From: Pallium India Newsletter <info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "" <palliumindia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 01 Jul 2011 00:26:32 +0000

Pallium India
Care Beyond Cure





         [HTTP://WWW.FLICKR.COM/PHOTOS/80741407@N00/429225209/] _“HE UNDERSTOOD 
THE LEPROSY OF THE LEPER, THE DARKNESS OF THE BLIND, THE FIERCE MISERY OF THOSE 
WHO LIVE FOR PLEASURE AND THE STRANGE POVERTY OF THE RICH,”_ said Dr. Mike 
Basler, quoting Oscar Wilde ( De Profundis 
[http://upword.com/wilde/de_profundis.html] ). 

        He spoke these words at the annual British Pain Society meeting 
[http://www.britishpainsociety.org/2011asm/index.htm] , held in Edinburgh, 
Scotland. Mike is the driving force behind the formation of a newly formed 
Special Interest Group ( SIG 
[http://www.britishpainsociety.org/members_sigs.htm] ) on Developing Countries. 

        This new group met during the conference, on June 23, 2011, filling the 
hall. He reminded the participants that while there is misery in the developing 
world, there is a different kind of misery in the developed world and that 
there is more than enough for mutual learning. The SIG went on to discuss plans 
of action. 

        BEST WISHES MIKE AND TEAM! 

        Following the session, several Indian doctors got together, all with 
the common desire to help out in India – Liza Tharakan, Senthil Vijayan, Hans 
Mathew, John Vinu Edwin Sabita Sreevalsan and others. Thank you Liza, Senthil, 
Hans, John and Sabita. There is more than enough to do in India. We need all 
the help that you can give. 

        -
[http://palliumindia.org/sharetocare] 

        Pallium India successfully launched the SHARE TO CARE 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/SHARETOCARE/] program on June 20, 2011. 

        Read the news report about the launch event from Yentha.com 
[http://palliumindia.org/sharetocare/] below. "

        _ _ 

        __ 

        _Pallium India along with YMCA Trivandrum, Ebenezer Palliative Care 
Unit and the Rajeswari Foundation launched the “SHARE TO CARE” program in YMCA 
hall. It’s aimed to give a share of your joy to the needy when you celebrate or 
observe a birthday, an anniversary or any important event in your life._ 

        _ Pallium India fights for the needs of the millions suffering in India 
who are in need of pain relief and palliative care. The aim is the improvement 
of the quality of life. When cure is possible it supports the patient through 
curative treatment, minimizing suffering and when cure is difficult the 
emphasis is to care for improving the quality of the life of both the patient 
and his family._ 

        _Dr. Ramdas Pisharody, Principal, Medical College was the Chief Guest 
of the function. Dr Vinay Jain, founder of JIV Daya Foundation, inaugurated the 
function. It was followed by a signature collection pledging to give a share to 
the needy when one celebrates or observes a birthday, anniversary or other 
important event in life. This pledge will support provision of pain relief and 
palliative care to the needy._" 

PLEDGE ONLINE HERE: PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/SHARETOCARE 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/SHARETOCARE/] 

        This pledge will support provision of pain relief and palliative care 
to the needy. If you’re in any doubt about the difference caring by sharing can 
make, take a look at just a few examples from our blog: 
        * A wedding: One Wedding and a Flood of Donations 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/05/one-wedding-and-a-flood-of-donations/] 
        * A memorial: Memories Are Made of This 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/04/memories-are-made-of-this/] 
        * A collection: Thank You, Bindu! 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/03/thank-you-bindu/] 
        * A celebrity: Manna from a Star! 
[http://palliumindia.org/2010/03/manna-from-a-star/] 
        * Another wedding: Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! 
[http://palliumindia.org/2009/12/merry-christmas-happy-new-year/] 

        - 

PALLIUM INDIA-USA AT SEVATHON 2011 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/PALLIUM-INDIA-USA-AT-SEVATHON-2011/] 

         [http://palliumindia.org/2011/06/pallium-india-usa-at-sevathon-2011/] 
In Silicon Valley, California, we’re lacing up our running shoes and stretching 
our calves to take part in the 2011 Sevathon, a July 17 
walkathon/5K/half-marathon through the India Community Center that raises funds 
for a number of nonprofit organizations. 

        ALL PLEDGES ON THIS PAGE 
[HTTP://WWW.SVETIMING.COM/DONATIONS/INDIA-COMMUNITY-CENTER/PALLIUM-INDIA] WILL 
GO TO PALLIUM INDIA USA. SPREAD THE WORD AMONG FAMILY & FRIENDS! 

        Come and enjoy delicious Indian food, live music & vibrant dance 
performances! Sunday 17th July 2011 – 7.30am onwards
Baylands Park, Sunnyvale, CA
Walkathon: 5K/10K/Half-Marathon
Download the flyer (pdf) [http://palliumindia.org/files/sevathon2011-flyer.pdf] 
        * To participate in the Walkathon register here: 
http://www.svetiming.com/donations/India-Community-Center/PALLIUM-INDIA 
[http://www.svetiming.com/donations/India-Community-Center/PALLIUM-INDIA] 
        * Registration fees: 5K/$25 – 10K/$25 – Half-marathon/$40. Additional 
contributions will be gratefully appreciated, enter the amount in the ‘Donate’ 
box on the registration page 
[http://www.svetiming.com/donations/India-Community-Center/PALLIUM-INDIA] . 
        * If you are unable to participate in the walk or run, you can support 
Pallium India-USA’s work by donating here: palliumindia.org/donate 
[http://palliumindia.org/donate/] 

WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AT SEVATHON 2011!

        - 

CONGRATULATIONS, KAVYA! 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/CONGRATULATIONS-KAVYA/] 

         

        We congratulate Ms Kavya G Nath from Kottayam district in Kerala for 
her distinguished success in her Secondary School Leaving Certificate ( SSLC 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SSLC] ) examination with 98% marks. 

        Kavya wrote to Pallium India,_ “MY FATHER’S DEATH FIVE YEARS HAD 
DESTROYED MY FAMILY IN EVERY SENSE. I CANNOT DESCRIBE THE COMFORT THAT WE GOT 
FROM THE SUPPORT AND LOVE THAT YOU HAD EXTENDED TO MY FAMILY. I CANNOT THANK 
YOU ENOUGH.”_ 

        Kavya wants to become a doctor. She will now have two years of “plus 
two” before she can attend an entrance examination to secure a seat for her 
medical studies. 

        And friends, we shall together support her in her choice of profession, 
if that is what she still wants to do at the end of these two years. Pallium 
India’s program is to continue support [http://palliumindia.org/about/] for 
education till the students’ studies have come to a natural conclusion and the 
person has started to earn. 

        At the “ Share to Care [http://palliumindia.org/sharetocare/] ” 
function on the 20th of June at Trivandrum, Kavya received a memento, a merit 
certificate and a cash award. 

CONGRATULATIONS, KAVYA! PALLIUM INDIA IS PRIVILEGED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO 
WALK WITH YOUR FAMILY.

        - 

LIFE BEFORE DEATH 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/05/LIFE-BEFORE-DEATH-50-POWERFUL-ADVOCACY-VIDEOS/]
 

         [http://www.lifebeforedeath.com/movie/] The “Life Before Death” series 
continues, with a short video coming out every single week for the next year. 
This documentary series highlights the global crisis in untreated pain and the 
dramatic, life-changing effect palliative care services can deliver to patients 
and their families around the world. 

        A feature film will be released in late 2011 followed by a one-hour TV 
documentary. The production team visited Trivandrum and filmed Pallium India at 
work. In total, they filmed in 11 countries including India, Uganda, Singapore, 
Canada, China, USA, South Africa, Australia, Georgia, Ireland and Hong Kong, 
exploring a diverse range of cultural perspectives on pain, death and dying. 

        The project is presented by the Lien Foundation and produced by 
Moonshine Movies. It is also supported by the International Association for the 
Study of Pain, The Mayday Fund, the Union for International Cancer Control and 
The Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice International 
Programs. Pallium India would like to congratulate Mr Mike Hill and team from 
Melbourne, Australia for their excellent contribution to pain and palliative 
care advocacy. 

        For more information and to view the entire series, visit the Life 
Before Death website… [http://www.lifebeforedeath.com/movie/] 

        - 

“STOCK-OUT PAIN”? [HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/WHAT-IS-STOCK-OUT-PAIN/] 

         [http://palliumindia.org/2011/06/what-is-stock-out-pain/] We suggest 
that a new term be created to highlight a major injustice. People like Dr Anne 
Merriman 
[http://www.hospiceafrica.or.ug/index.php?mod=article&cat=pubs&article=77] and 
colleagues have worked for decades to improve opioid availability in Uganda and 
yet, for trivial reasons, there is no morphine for those in pain. 

        In the May 2011 Cairdeas newsletter 
[http://www.cairdeas.org.uk/publications/newsletter%208%20-%20may%2011.pdf] , 
Dr Mhoira Leng describes how they had to scrounge for money to buy morphine at 
Mulago Hospital in Kampala because the Ugandan Government was ‘reorganizing’ 
its supply system. 

        DESPITE ALL THE MILLIONS THAT GO INTO AFRICA FOR HEALTH-RELATED AID, 
THERE IS NO MONEY FOR MORPHINE? 

        Can you imagine the agony of someone whose excruciating pain has been 
relieved so easily by morphine and then is told one morning without any 
warning: "

        _“SORRY, WE HAVE RUN OUT OF THE MEDICINE. SORRY, WE DO NOT KNOW WHEN WE 
WILL GET SOME MORE. AND, NO, WE HAVE NO SUBSTITUTE FOR IT.”_" 

        As a palliative care worker, I feel so very privileged to have the 
opportunity to relieve someone’s pain and suffering so easily. Then we run out 
of morphine. 

        I can tell you as one who knows, that it is certainly not a pleasant 
experience, having to explain it to person after person. And it is not easy to 
forgive the insensitivity of human beings that causes that stock-out to happen! 

        - 

A PALLIATIVE PIONEER RETIRES 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/A-PALLIATIVE-PIONEER-RETIRES/] 

         

        REVEREND SISTER MERLIN, one of the pioneers of palliative nursing in 
India and an active worker with the Pain and Palliative Care Society 
[http://www.painandpalliativecare.org/] at Calicut from its beginning, formally 
retired from Kerala Government Service on 26 May 2011. 

        She was the winner of the prestigious National Florence Nightingale 
Award 
[http://www.helpthehospices.org.uk/enewsletter/WHPCO_Issue_51.htm#hospicepractice]
 for Nursing Personnel in 2008, which she had received from the President of 
India, Prathibha Patil. 

        BEST WISHES FOR THE NEW PHASE OF YOUR LIFE, SISTER MERLIN. 

         You may have formally retired from Government service, but we have no 
doubt that you will be active in palliative nursing for many many years to 
come! 

        - 

CONGRATULATIONS, POONAM! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU! 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/CONGRATULATIONS-POONAM-WE-ARE-PROUD-OF-YOU/] 

         

        PALLIUM INDIA is proud to report that as part of its “We Can, We 
Should, We Will Conquer Cancer” campaign, the American Cancer Society 
[http://cancer.org] (ACS) has selected MS POONAM BAGAI as one of two 
Indian GLOBAL CANCER AMBASSADORS. 

        Poonam, herself a cancer survivor, is President of  CanKids 
[http://cankidsindia.org/] and vice-chair of Pallium India. Her selection as a 
Global Cancer Ambassador is based on her dedicated work in these areas over the 
last few years. 

        During June, along with other 
[http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2011/may-2011/30/we-can,-we-should,-we-will-conquer-cancer.aspx]
 select Global Cancer Ambassadors, she will travel to New York to be trained by 
ACS 
[http://www.cancer.org/AboutUs/GlobalHealth/GlobalCancerPriority/unhigh-levelmeetingonncds]
 on meeting with UN mission representatives and decision makers, and on 
advocating to make cancer a health priority in India and globally. 

        ACS’s training sessions are in preparation for the  UN High-level 
Meeting on non-communicable diseases (NCD) prevention and control 
[http://www.who.int/nmh/events/un_ncd_summit2011/en/index.html] , which 
convenes in  September 2011 [http://www.ncdalliance.org/node/51] . She will 
also meet with the  Indian Mission to the United Nations 
[http://www.un.int/india/] to put forward specific requests to be presented at 
the Meeting. 

        The UN High-level meeting will bring together heads of state and other 
high level political figures to discuss NCDs (cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular 
disease, chronic respiratory disease) and create international policy 
guidelines to address NCDs. The Global Cancer Ambassadors are integral to 
implementing these guidelines. 

        - 

A GRIEVING MOTHER SPEAKS OUT 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/LIVING-WITH-LOSS-A-DAY-AS-A-MOTHER/] 

         [http://palliumindia.org/2011/06/living-with-loss-a-day-as-a-mother/] 

        What is it like for a mother when she loses her only child, born after 
her ninth fertility treatment? In the UK’s Sunday Times Magazine, Sally Ayles 
describes a day in her life, six months after losing 18-month-old Katie to 
meningitis. 

        Sally found support from The Compassionate Friend 
[http://www.tcf.org.uk/] s, a forum for bereaved parents. In the UK’s Sunday 
Times Magazine, Sally writes: "

        “TCF is for bereaved parents, by bereaved parents, and I feel lucky to 
have found them just nine weeks after losing Katie. Everyone in my old life has 
their child except for me and I need it so I know I’m not alone. People write 
about that day’s challenges, the bad days (every day is bad, but some, like 
Mothers’ Day, Christmas, anniversaries of death, birthdays, are even worse). 
I’ve learnt that it doesn’t matter how old your child was — stillborn, 18 
months, 10, 20, 40 — it’s the same loss of your future, your hopes and dreams. 
A child isn’t meant to die before a parent. It just shouldn’t be.”" 

         Read the full article on our blog… 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/06/living-with-loss-a-day-as-a-mother/] 

        - 

BEYOND THE BOUNDARIES OF GEOGRAPHY, COLOR, AGE, SEX… 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/BEYOND-THE-BOUNDARIES-OF-GEOGRAPHY-COLOR-AGE-SEX/]
 

        SOME THINGS, LIKE PAIN, KNOW NO BORDERS. THE REACTION OF INSENSITIVE 
DOCTORS TO _SOMEONE ELSE’S_ PAIN IS ANOTHER. 

        Ruth (not her real name) had grown up in USA. After she lost her 
husband to cancer, she migrated to Thailand, and worked as a Professor. 
Unfortunately, she had a fall, and there followed physiotherapy which included 
some form of electrical stimulation. 

        One day something went wrong. An accidental high strength of current, 
her leg shot up, out of control and she had agonizing pain. 

        What followed was a nightmare – doctors refusing to believe that she 
had pain, eventually finding that she had damaged nerves (during the abnormal 
muscle contraction following the electric current, she believes) and yet would 
not, or could not, relieve her pain. 

        Eventually she got to the pain management team at Siriraj Pain Center 
[http://www.si.mahidol.ac.th/eng/Index.asp] in Bangkok, run by Dr Pongparadee 
Chaudakshetrin 
[http://www.si.mahidol.ac.th/sidoctor/e-pl/articledetail.asp?id=579] , where 
she got some relief, enough to start working again. She still has to take 
opioids, along with physiotherapy and complementary therapy, but now she is 
earning for herself and building herself a life again. 

THERE HAS TO BE A WAY BY WHICH STORIES LIKE HERS SHOULD BE COMMON KNOWLEDGE TO 
MEDICAL STUDENTS AND DOCTORS. THAT WOULD BE AT LEAST OF AS PRACTICAL EDUCATIVE 
VALUE AS THE LATEST IN THE NEUROSCIENCE OF PAIN!

        - 

PALLIATIVE CARE NEGLECTED WORLDWIDE: TENS OF MILLIONS FACE DEATH IN AGONY 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/PALLIATIVE-CARE-NEGLECTED-WORLDWIDE-TENS-OF-MILLIONS-FACE-DEATH-IN-AGONY/]
 

         [http://www.hrw.org/node/98936] In their 128-page report, “ Global 
State of Pain Treatment: Access to Palliative Care as a Human Right 
[http://www.hrw.org/node/98936] “, Human Rights Watch [http://www.hrw.org/] 
(HRW) highlights the fact that tens of millions of people worldwide are denied 
access to inexpensive medications for severe pain. 

        HRW comprehensively detail the failure of many governments to take even 
basic steps to ensure that people with severe pain due to cancer, HIV, and 
other serious illnesses have access to palliative care, as a result, millions 
of patients live and die in great agony that could easily be prevented. 
        * HRW press release 
[http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2011/06/02/global-tens-millions-face-death-agony] 
        * DOWNLOAD THE REPORT 
[HTTP://WWW.HRW.ORG/SITES/DEFAULT/FILES/REPORTS/HHR0511W.PDF] (pdf) 
        * Read the report online 
[http://www.hrw.org/en/reports/2011/06/01/global-state-pain-treatment-0] 

        Some quotes From Patients and Healthcare Workers Interviewed by Human 
Rights Watch: "

        _“BEFORE I CAME [TO KENYATTA NATIONAL HOSPITAL], I COULDN’T EAT OR 
BREATHE WELL [BECAUSE OF THE PAIN]. NOW THAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN MEDICINE 
[MORPHINE], I CAN EAT AND BREATHE. I COULDN’T SIT DOWN, BUT NOW I CAN. I HAD 
PAIN FOR MORE THAN A MONTH. I TOLD THE DOCTOR AND NURSES [AT ANOTHER HOSPITAL] 
THAT I HAD PAIN. IT TOOK TOO LONG TO GET PAIN TREATMENT… HERE I GOT IT 
IMMEDIATELY AND STARTED FEELING WELL AGAIN.”_
- Christine L., an 18 year-old woman with Breast Cancer, Nairobi, Kenya. 

        _“I WOULD SLEEP MAYBE AN HOUR AND A HALF PER NIGHT. I COULD TAKE ANY 
NUMBER OF SLEEPING PILLS [WITHOUT EFFECT]. WITH MORPHINE, I CAN RELAX. THIS 
PLACE [THE PALLIATIVE CARE UNIT] IS HEAVEN-SENT…”_
- Shruti Sharma, Hyderabad, a breast cancer patient, India 

        _“CANCER IS KILLING US. PAIN IS KILLING ME BECAUSE FOR SEVERAL DAYS I 
HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO FIND INJECTABLE MORPHINE IN ANY PLACE. PLEASE, MR. 
SECRETARY OF HEALTH, DO NOT MAKE US SUFFER ANY MORE.”_
- A classified ad placed in El País newspaper in Cali, Colombia, on September 
12, 2008, by the mother of a woman with cervical cancer 

        _“I WANTED TO FALL HEAD DOWN AND BE DEAD RIGHT AWAY SO IT WOULDN’T HURT 
ANYMORE.”_
- Vlad Zhukovsky, a cancer patient from Ukraine, describing a failed suicide 
attempt 

        _“WE HAVE NO PETHIDINE, NO DF-118 (DIHYDROCODEINE) AND NO MORPHINE…. WE 
HAVE CHILDREN HERE WITH ADVANCED HIV; SOME ARE IN SEVERE PAIN. THE PAIN 
MANAGEMENT FOR CHILDREN WITH ADVANCED HIV IS NOT ENOUGH.”_
- Nurse, Bondo District Hospital, Kenya 

        _“DOCTORS ARE FEARFUL OF EVERYTHING TO DO WITH OPIOIDS.”_
- Oncologist, Jordan" 

        - 

STARS AND CELEBRITIES ADVOCATE FOR PALLIATIVE CARE 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/STARS-AND-CELEBRITIES-ADVOCATE-FOR-PALLIATIVE-CARE/]
 

         

        Megastars from Malayalam movies, Bharat Mammootty 
[http://www.mammootty.com/] , Mr Innocent [http://www.innocent.net.in/] , Mr 
Dileep [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dileep_(actor)] ,  Mr Biju Menon 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biju_Menon] and many other celebrities got 
together to advocate and fund–raise for palliative care at a function at Lulu 
International Convention Centre [http://www.luluicc.in/] in Thrissur. 

        The event, on June 11th, was organised by  Alpha Pain Clinic 
[http://www.alphapainclinic.in/] , a palliative care service founded by Mr KM 
Noordeen [http://www.alphapainclinic.in/news.php] . 

THANK YOU STARS – YOU HAVE ALWAYS SUPPORTED PALLIATIVE CARE!

        All of us in the palliative care scene, and many people in the 
State who have been supported with your help, will forever remain grateful to 
you. 

        - 

PAIN RELIEF & PALLIATIVE CARE: A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT! 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/PAIN-RELIEF-PALLIATIVE-CARE-A-BASIC-HUMAN-RIGHT/]
 

         

         

         Human Rights Watch [http://www.hrw.org/] and the  Open Society 
Foundations [http://www.soros.org/] came together with six 
[http://www.helpthehospices.org.uk/enewsletter/WHPCO_Issue_69.htm?WHPCO%20June%202011#2]
 other international organizations, including PALLIUM INDIA, to host a 
side-event during the recent  17th Session 
[http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/17session/] of the  United 
Nations Human Rights Council [http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/] 
in Geneva. 

        THE OBJECTIVE? A Human Rights Council resolution declaring: “ACCESS TO 
PAIN RELIEF AS A HUMAN RIGHT.” 

         Dr Tabaré Vázquez 
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabar%C3%A9_V%C3%A1zquez] , an oncologist and the 
former President of Uruguay, was the star of the show. 

        He is a champion who, while President, took such stern anti–tobacco 
measures 
[http://tobaccofreecenter.org/updates/2009/09/10/uruguay-graphic-warnings] that 
the cigarette company Philip Morris sued the Uruguayan Government 
[http://news.change.org/stories/uruguay-warns-citizens-of-tobacco-risks-philip-morris-sues]
 in the name of an International Free Trade Agreement. 

        INDEED, THE PRESIDENT WAS INTERFERING WITH THE TOBACCO COMPANY’S 
FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO KILL MORE PEOPLE! 

        During his opening address, Dr Vázquez said, "

        _JUST AS ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE SHOULD BE A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT, SO SHOULD 
ACCESS TO PALLIATIVE CARE BE, AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF IT._" 

        - 

ONE MONTH CERTIFICATE COURSE IN PALLIATIVE CARE AT MNJ, HYDERABAD 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/ONE-MONTH-CERTIFICATE-COURSE-IN-PALLIATIVE-CARE-AT-MNJ-HYDERABAD/]
 

         [http://www.mnjiorcc.org/] An invitation from MNJ Institute of 
Oncology & Regional Cancer Centre, Hyderabad to the ONE MONTH CERTIFICTE COURSE 
IN PALLIATIVE CARE FOR DOCTORS, NURSES, SOCIAL WORKERS AND VOLUNTEERS. 

        This one month course will be conducted by MNJ Institute of Oncology 
[http://www.mnjiorcc.org/] in collaboration with INCTR [http://www.inctr.org/] 
and PALLIUM INDIA. 

        This is an opportunity to learn managing chronic pain, difficult 
symptoms, difficult issues around end of life care and communication skill 
training. 

        Course dates: JULY 4TH 2011 – JULY 30TH 2011 

DOWNLOAD COURSE INFORMATION AND APPLICATION FORM HERE… 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/CMS/WP-CONTENT/UPLOADS/2011/06/CCPPM-MNJ-JULY2011.PDF] 

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT R VINEELA:  MNJ.PALLIATIVE@xxxxxxxxx 
[MAILTO:MNJ.PALLIATIVE@xxxxxxxxx] OR CALL 09177238901

        - 

MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR VAL HUNKIN 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/MEMORIAL-SERVICE-FOR-VAL-HUNKIN/] 

         

        June 20th 2011 saw a memorial service for our dear departed friend Val 
Hunkin 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/03/obituary-of-val-hunkin-a-special-friend/] at 
St Just in Roseland Church [http://stjust.roselandchurches.co.uk/] , Cornwall, 
UK. 

        Val Hunkin had taught a whole generation of emerging palliative care 
professionals in India, supported by Bruce Davis Trust 
[http://palliumindia.org/2011/03/dr-kapil-sankar-wins-bruce-davis-prize/] . 

        The church was full. There were 26 MacMillan nurses 
[http://www.macmillan.org.uk/HowWeCanHelp/Nurses/AboutMacmillanNurses.aspx] 
, Val’s family and numerous friends. Dr Robert 
[http://www.hospice-history.org.uk/byoralsurname?id=0111&search=t&page=0] 
Twycross [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Twycross] came all the way from 
Oxford. 

        There were tears in many eyes as her many friends whose lives she had 
touched, spoke about the wonderful person Val Hunkin was. 

DEAR VAL, IT IS NOT EASY TO LET GO. BUT WE HAVE TO. YOU TAUGHT US HOW IMPORTANT 
IT IS. REST IN PEACE!

         READ MORE TRIBUTES, ON THE BLOG… 
[HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/2011/06/MEMORIAL-SERVICE-FOR-VAL-HUNKIN/] 

        - 

PARTING SHOT

         [HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/] “I NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED AT THE 
INFORMATION COMING FROM THE PALLIUM NEWSLETTER. THANK YOU ALL. GOD BLESS YOUR 
WORK,” writes Dr Anne Merriman, the palliative care pioneer of Sub-Saharan 
Africa. 

        Dr Liliana De Lima, executive director of International Association for 
Palliative Care says, “YOUR NEWSLETTER IS VERY GOOD. IT HAS A CERTAIN QUALITY; 
AS IF SOMEONE IS PERSONALLY TALKING TO YOU.” 

        Professor David Clark, who founded the International Observatory for 
End-of-Life Care, wrote to say that he missed getting the newsletter when he 
changed his address–and that he wanted to make sure we had the right one for 
him. 

        And Pallium India’s own vice-chair Ms Poonam Bagai sends a quick email, 
“DID YOU APPOINT A COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER IN TRIVANDRUM? THE WEBSITE AND 
NEWSLETTER ARE BRILLIANT.” 

        No, we have no communications officer! The website and the newsletter 
together cost NOTHING except precious time donated by volunteers. 

        Congratulations and thank you, Rakesh Menon, Sunshine Mugrabi, Supten 
Sarbadhikari and Jayasree Jayachandran for your precious input and thank you 
Binod for donating the site. 

AND LET US PLEDGE TO REMEMBER THAT THE WEBSITE AND THE NEWSLETTER MEAN NOTHING 
IF THEY FAIL TO HELP IMPROVE ACCESS TO PALLIATIVE CARE FOR THE NEEDY.

        - 

NEW! DONATE ONLINE & SUPPORT PALLIUM INDIA! [HTTP://PALLIUMINDIA.ORG/DONATE/]

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