INSIGHTS – 2024 Q1
Welcome back to INSIGHTS, our quarterly eNewsletter, with some highlights from the the beginning of this year. We are delighted to share our annual report highlighting the impact and programs that your generous donations support . It's available now via our website Reportage 2023 .
Social worker Anuradah (left) talks to a patient in her home in Hyderabad, India. TWCC supported the Home Care Program for three years funding three home care palliative teams before local philanthropists and NGOs started to assist with the funding.
Photo Chuck Russell/Two Worlds Cancer
Compassionate Partners appeal
A huge thank you to all who joined us as Compassionate Partners during our annual monthly donor appeal from Valentine's Day through the end of March.
A special thanks to our first-time donors and those that chose to become new
monthly donors. And of course, everyone who generously continues to donate
to Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration.
Dr. Robin Love to receive lifetime achievement award
We are excited to offer our congratulations and share that Dr. Robin Love, co-lead of our Nepal programs, will receive the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians‘ 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award is “in recognition of his sustained and lasting contribution to palliative medicine and to the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians.”
Dr. Love is a founding member of the Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP). He will join the other CSPCP award winners who will honoured at the 19th Advanced Learning in Palliative Medicine Conference, being held in Toronto, Canada on Thursday, May 30. Read more about his involvement and impact on palliative care initiatives in both Canada and Nepal in our Q&A with Dr. Love.
A grassroots success story wins WHO recognition
The Hyderabad-based, Home Care Program continues its remarkable expansion and was recently recognized by the World Health Organization. Today, our partners have 12 vans providing home-based palliative care – including three caring for children.
This program has been an incredible success growing from grassroots funding by TWCC donors starting in 2010 until local philanthropists and NGOs took over
the funding.
Our congratulation to the Hyderabad team on this well deserved recognition and for the compassionate care that you provide!
Building a pharmacy support program
It is crucial for pharmacist involvement in patient care. TWCC advocates for clinical practice development so pharmacists can integrate and establish their roles as the drug therapy specialists and advocates in the regions where they work.
In the face of shortages and drug-related stigma that both impact availability, it is essential for pharmacists to be involved in patient care. As drug therapy specialists, pharmacists assess therapeutic necessity, efficacy, safety, and adherence factors for patients. This supports care teams to implement, monitor and follow-up on treatment plans that are best for patient needs.
TWCC currently has four clinical pharmacists who volunteer their time, supporting these efforts through various initiatives and ECHO sessions. Our international partnership network includes pharmacists from South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
Podcast packs a punch
The Sunflower – Palliative Care Podcasts have gained a wide and varied audience. Today, 16 podcasts are available on Spotify or wherever you listen. The podcast are hosted by Dr. Megan Doherty and guest hosts covering a wide range of topics on children‘s palliative care. In celebration of Music Therapy Month in March, host Camara van Breemen spoke with music therapist Michaela Wallis her colleague at Canuck Place Children‘s Hospice – Listen today
Please join us on social media
We have an important ask – Will you connect with us on social media?
We are on Instagram, Facebook, Linkedin and X (formerly Twitter). Every follow, like and share helps amplify what we do and raises awareness of the need for equitable and accessible health and palliative care.
Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration has grown from a small network to include a global network of people and organizations working to narrow the disparities in care that exist globally. Today that network collaborates and partners to help build the capacity for care in six countries: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines and Bhutan.
None of that would have been possible without your belief in our vision and your generous support.
With thanks from the TWCC Team,
Dr. Simon Sutcliffe
President, Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration