What do palliative care, Snape, Donald Trump, unicorn pillows and Croatian men have in common?

NOTHING.

Except they’re all in this podcast.

In this episode, Dr Katherine talks about her career in palliative care.

Palliative care is a branch of medicine that deals with making end-of-life patients as comfortable as possible, rather than seeking to cure.

What’s the appeal of this specialty? What does it involve? Is it all as sad as it sounds? Dr Katherine answers these questions and more.

You might still wonder: Why is palliative care so important?

Because after life, there’s the guarantee of death.

Sometimes that receives the Voldemort treatment, where people are afraid to talk about That Which Cannot Be Named.

Kicking the bucket. Passing away. Going to a better place. While there are countless euphemisms for the act of dying, there’s only one way of saying that someone is born. Given the reality that death is inevitable, this can be a disproportionate emphasis on life.

But the final moments are just as important as the beginning.

Podcast

About the guest speaker

Dr Katherine Allsopp is a supportive and palliative care staff specialist from Westmead Hospital. She works with such distinguished colleagues as Dr Philip Lee, Parramatta Citizen of the Year, and Dr Sally Greenaway, haematologist and palliative care physician.

Music credits

Opening and closing themes by Phil Poronnik.