Hospis Malaysia: Making lives bearable

NST: Kong loves fishing and hunting. On a shelf by his bed is a framed picture of his much younger self with a 30cm fish he landed on a fishing trip.
But the 68-year-old retired civil servant has not been on a trip in several years. His favourite picture sits among clear food containers full of little plastic packets of pills.
He suffers from schwannoma, a rare cancer of the nerves. The disease had been in remission but returned in February.
Doctors found that it had spread to his spinal tract, and they were unable to do anything to stop it. So he went home.
He has not been able to leave his bed since July, and his wife Liew has been looking after him since.
She struggles to cope with looking after her sick husband. As Kong’s primary caregiver, she has to handle everything, from moving him to giving him his painkillers.
Last month, one of Kong’s doctors recommended that she speak to Hospis Malaysia. When the doctors and nurses came, they brought a wheelchair and a walking stick. They taught her how to handle his medication and help him walk.
"I really thank God for them, otherwise I would not know what to do," she says.
Hospis Malaysia specialises in palliative care, a field of medicine which focuses on reducing the severity of the symptoms of a disease or slowing its progress.
Rather than providing a cure, it aims to improve the quality of life of patients.
Hospis Malaysia also helps support caregivers and patients’ families, who usually struggle to grasp the impact of the disease on their lives, and in the process impose their desires and decisions on their sick loved ones.
"They don’t realise that the caring takes a life of its own. They may reduce the patient’s dignity by taking over some of the decision- making, all in the name of protection, love and care," says chief executive officer and medical director Dr Ednin Hamzah.
Hospis Malaysia’s medical staff help patients and their families learn to deal with these issues, and give the sick a say in their own care.
"There is a place for patient autonomy and dignity in illness," says Dr Ednin.
Some families do not know how to handle their feelings, or cannot express them, and palliative care helps them come to terms with letting go, Dr Ednin says.
Hospis Malaysia looks at the psychological and social implications of illness, and helps people deal with the spiritual aspects.
Most of Hospis Malaysia’s patients have cancer.
Established in 1991, its initiatives include running palliative home care, a palliative daycare centre, training and education for nurses and volunteer support.
These services are free, but providing them is expensive. Hospis Malaysia, which looks after 200 patients at any one time, needs RM1 million a year for operating expenses.
In conjunction with the first World Hospice and Palliative Care Day on Oct 8, the centre is organising "Voices for Hospices 2005", a fund-raising effort on Sept 24.
Jazz diva Sheila Majid and the Actors Studio are providing the entertainment between 8pm and 11pm.
The New Straits Times is the official newspaper. Tables are priced at RM15,000, RM10,000, RM5,000, RM3,000 and RM2,000.
To pledge support or buy a table, call Yati at 03-91333936 or email yati@hospismalaysia.org.
All cheques should be made payable to Hospis Malaysia. Mail forms and cheques to Hospis Malaysia at 2, Jalan 4/96, off Jalan Sekuci, Taman Sri Bahtera, Jalan Cheras, 56100 Kuala Lumpur.