For every child with serious health-related suffering – Palliative Care is a Human Right

December 10th, 2024|

Author: Joan Marston Today is World Human Rights Day with the theme: Our Rights, Our Future, Right Now. On this day, global palliative care advocate, Joan Marston, writes: For every child with serious health-related suffering - Palliative Care is a Human Right.   Palliative care for children to relieve serious health-related suffering is recognised as a human right. Included [...]

Wear a hat and walk for a purpose in Durban this Sunday

October 22nd, 2024|

Join a 5 km walk for a purpose this Sunday 27 October at 8h00, starting from the Amphitheatre on the Durban beachfront promenade. The HatsOn4CPC Fun Walk has been organised by PatchSA, a national charity promoting hospice and palliative care for children and Umduduzi Hospice Care for Children, a local charity providing hospice and palliative care and support to [...]

Wear a hat this Friday to raise awareness of children’s palliative care

October 9th, 2024|

Every year Palliative Care for Children South Africa (PatchSA) members, associates, and friends join thousands of people from around the world in raising awareness of the need for more and better palliative care for children with life-limiting and life-shortening illnesses and their families. Initiated by the International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) in 2014, the #HatsOn4CPC campaign is celebrated [...]

The life and death of Lirie van der Merwe

May 16th, 2024|

How an early palliative care referral could have changed things This blog by Mauriche van der Merwe is written with raw honesty and describes the tenuous and precious life of her daughter, Lirie, and their experience through her unnecessarily traumatic end of life. Please be aware that it will and should be upsetting to all readers, but it is [...]

Our journey to Butterfly Palliative Home

August 14th, 2023|

In this blog, Tarryn Bell, co-founder of Butterfly Palliative Home in Ingwavuma, recounts her and husband Christoff's inspirational journey to the establishment of Butterfly Palliative Home, the only in-patient children's hospice in KZN. My husband Christoff and I moved from Cape Town thirteen years ago to a small hospital close to Sodwana Bay called Mseleni Hospital to pursue careers [...]

Cancer is a disease, not a military campaign

May 22nd, 2023|

Cancer is a disease, not a military campaign: Changing the narrative Research has shown that the ubiquitous use of war metaphors when referring to cancer is not helpful and could cause harm by instilling fear in people who delay reporting symptoms. In this blog Bonni Suckling (Jed's mom) explains how the words we choose to talk to children and [...]

In palliative care we have the unique privilege to plan for death

September 20th, 2022|

Research has shown that when a child dies, the place of their death may have lasting consequences for the parents during the bereavement process. In this blog, Bonni Suckling, mother to Jed and founding member of Rainbows and Smiles, describes why home was the best place for her 6-year-old son to die. I feared Jed dying his entire life [...]

Before and After learning about Paediatric Palliative Care

September 20th, 2022|

In this powerful and deeply personal written narrative, Samantha Jiri, a medical doctor, gives excerpts from her journalling through her palliative care journey. She shares stories of two patients and their mothers- before and after learning about and applying palliative care principles. Samantha went on to graduate Cum Laude in the Post Graduate Paediatric Palliative Care Diploma (UCT). A [...]

Benjamin’s story

July 5th, 2022|

Angie, Anton and Abigail Hawkes share the story of how palliative care supported them through the last weeks of Benjamin's life.  Benjamin Hawkes was just 10 years old when he was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and over the next ten months he underwent chemotherapy, limb salvage surgery and radiation therapy. A clear PET scan at the end of [...]