The Integrative Palliative Podcast

Not having access to Medical Aid in Dying can drastically increase suffering for dying people and their families.

This week I'll share a deeply personal and painful story about a dying man who wanted to have control over his death and what why he had to face it alone.

Helping healers heal others and themselves.

Delia

Delia Chiaramonte, MD

www.integrativepalliative.com

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Love...

It's been an interesting experience for me to experience the loss of my dad and both feel my own grief and also observe it with the lens of a palliative care physician.

I have noticed how healing it has been for me when others bear witness to my pain and also when they bear witness to my dad as a person.

This is how we can best support people who are grieving after someone they love has died: bear witness to the pain or bear wit...

Grief isn't only an issue after a person dies. Anticipatory grief shows up long before a person has passed away. Families facing dementia, ALS, cancer, renal failure, and other serious illnesses can experience anticipatory grief long before the very end of life.

This week we take a look at anticipatory grief from the inside because my family is facing it right now.

This episode is for you if you are a clinician who cares for the...

Everyone should have an advanced directive. Full stop. You, your parents, your partner, your adult kids - everyone.

Most people know that having an advance directive is important but they feel awkward or anxious about actually making it happen.

I've seen patients with stroke have a terrible outcome from a poorly done advance directive. And I've seen family members of people with cancer suffer because their loved one didn&ap...

What have you been avoiding? Is there a courageous conversation you should be having? A boundary you should be setting? A household task that needs to be completed?

I wrote Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Without Losing Yourself about a year ago and I never recorded the audio book! I meant to. I wanted to. But I just never made it happen - until this week!

Why do we...

Dr. Janet Abrahm is a Fellow of the American Academy of Physicians, Fellow of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. She is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, a former practicing oncologist, and an internationally recognized expert in supportive and palliative care for patients with cancer. She has over 20 years of experience in the forefro...

Physicians are expert learners, yet many have the feeling that they can't be entrepreneurs. This week, Nneka Unachukwu, MD (affectionately known as "Dr. Una") will convince you that you can learn the skills to become a physician entrepreneur or a physician "intrapreneur" and create the life that you want.

If you have a tiny voice inside that dreams of starting a business or advancing in your employ...

Talking about advance directives, goals of care, and end-or-life wishes can be scary. Even if the conversation doesn't scare you, finding the right time and the right way to bring it up can be a challenge.

This week I share my own recent experience of having a goals of care conversation with a loved one, and give practical guidance for how to get started with your own courageous conversations.

Let's talk...

In this episode, Katie Joy Duke (@katiejoyduke) shares her wisdom as a woman and life coach who experienced treatment for stage IV breast cancer. She shares the tough parts and the growth parts, including her decision to pursue an aesthetic flat closure rather than breast reconstruction.

She is open and engaging and wise. I know you'll love learning from her.

You can find information about her coaching practi...

We create much of our own suffering, and I suggest that we all cut that out! Life sends us enough stress and challenge - why would we add to our suffering for now good reason?

Expectations can add to our suffering. 

Learning to modulate your expectations allows you to stay in the moment and enjoy your experiences, your people, and your moments.

Holidays are packed with expectations which can turn happy ti...

In the serious illness space, regret is rampant. 

Caregivers often regret what they did or didn't do when caring for their loved one with cancer, dementia, or other life-limiting illness. Physicians and other clinicians may regret the goals of care conversations that we meant to have but didn't get around to.

Regret is terrible and its negative impact can linger long after the ill person has died. One of...

Emergency Medicine physicians face life and death situations as part of their normal work day. They train for that! But what about when an ailing person with a very advanced cancer comes to the ED without an advanced directive? What if half the family wants aggressive care and half the family wants to let the patient die peacefully at home?

This week's guest is Dan Morhaim, MD who is an accomplished emergency medicine...

Holidays can be joyful times that bring you together with the people that you love. But what if someone is missing? 

Maybe your loved one has died, or maybe someone important to you can't join you for the holidays this year. How do you balance grief with expectations of holiday joy?

This week I discuss how to cope with the holidays when someone you love won't be with you.

In support and gratitud...

We've just had a big election and many people have strong feelings about the result. Some people are happy about the outcome, and others are feeling deeply distressed.

In palliative care we are experts at helping people cope with highly unwanted outcomes. We can use some of our palliative care skills to help people cope with their feelings right now.

What other tips would you suggest?

#meded #hospice...

Can you define cisgender? Transgender? Intersex? Gender non-conforming?

Do you know the difference between sex and gender? Have you heard of a 'dead name?'

Do you know why using "Sir" and "Ma'am" can cause you to be inadvertently hurtful to your patients? 

Providing gender affirming care is important but you may not have learned this in school. Join us this week for a pr...

Sarah Freeman Smith is a blind inspirational speaker and author, former HR/recruiting leader and disability advocate. She went blind in midlife and in this week's episode of The Integrative Palliative Podcast she shares her journey, the tech that she uses to increase her independence, and guidance for physicians and clinicians to help their visually impaired patients.

Rayban Meta smart glasses have been a game changer...

Many patients are embalmed or cremated after death, but this isn't the only option. Embalming and cremation have a negative impact on the environment, and other, more eco-friendly, options are becoming popular.

Options such as green burials, human composting, and reef balls give people options for how to handle their loved one's body after death.

Do you think that accepting, and even facilitating, decomp...

Many physicians, and other clinicians, are wiped out and burned out. They may wonder if they should stay in medicine, or if there is another path that would make them happier.

Yet running away from unhappiness isn't a great strategy because sometimes the unhappiness follows you to your next destination.

Dr. Heather Fork is a dermatologist and physician career coach who guides physicians to a career, and life...

Sometimes patients or family members express their stress with anger. And when the anger is directed your way you may get defensive or annoyed and it can put a pall on your day.

Listen to this week's episode for clear guidance about what to do when your patient gets angry so that both of you leave the visit feeling calm.

Coping Courageously: A Heart-Centered Guide for Navigating a Loved One’s Illness Wit...