Hektoen International

A Journal of Medical Humanities

Tag: Palliative Care

  • And a time to die

    Katherine Arnup Ottawa, Canada   “You’re going to be an expert at this by the time you’re done with me,” my sister joked, shortly before her death from cancer at 51. “Maybe,” I protested, “but I don’t want to learn it from you.” Four years later, I began volunteering at a hospice near my home.…

  • Miriam’s stoicism

    Elizabeth Neglia Durham, North Carolina, United States   Anne Todd Hochberg Chromogenic print 6”x 9” “Refused?” I asked incredulously. She’s in pain on her deathbed. Why would she refuse? Sarah, the night nurse, sleepily rejoined, “I told Miriam to take it, but she won’t. I don’t get it either.” It was 7 am. Sarah was…

  • Three Visits

    Anthony Papagiannis Thessaloniki, Greece   Prelude She rings at the recommendation of a colleague who knows my interest in lung cancer and palliative care. “It is about my father, doctor.” I suggest that she brings me his films and tests for a briefing before I get to meet him. We arrange an appointment, and she…

  • What Matters

    Anne Clemente Charlottesville, Virginia, United States   Poet’s statement: When I worked in the Palliative Care Unit, a friend of mine died leaving her child behind. At that time, I had been working on the second half of this poem. Her young death made me deeply wonder how one prepares and grieves for oneself and…