“Palliative Care means having a situation in which a person lives with dignity until their last breath.” Dr. David Morrison

We are all going to die.  Those with a terminal illness simply have a more acute awareness of how much time they have left to live and the quality with which that time will be lived.  Often it is the pain associated with illness that compromises quality of life, and generally it is needless pain.

Palliative care in general, and hospice care in specific, is about alleviating pain so that a dying individual and his loved ones can have quality at end of life.  Pain comes in many forms: physical, psychological, and spiritual.  Hospice personnel address each of these aspects so that a person can go towards death unencumbered by pain, enjoying to the fullest extent the last days of life.  In this very visceral sense, hospice is not dying.  Hospice is living.

Life Before Death is an epic and award winning cinematographic documentary about global efforts and hindrances when it comes to pain control and end of life.  This short and powerful excerpt features palliative care practitioners as they discuss pain’s role in making and breaking the end of life experience.