IAHPC is proud to have sponsored the following palliative care leaders from developing countries to visit the Department of Palliative Care at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, USA:

Rodrigo Lopez Barreda, MD from Chile - March, 2005

Gayatri Palat, MD from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences,
Kochi Kerala, India - June 2005

Dr. Eva Duarte - National Cancer Institute (INCAN) Guatemala

My visit to Houston was a real blessing, since it was not only rich in information and life experiences but also a just-in-time opportunity which came immediately before we begin to run our Palliative Care unit.
Guatemala has only one Cancer Hospital (Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia – INCAN) and it is a center of reference for the whole country and other countries in Central America. Our doctors, nurses and general workers make a great and heroic job with cancer patients in the middle of big economic and resource limitations, but there is a gap in the attention to the total suffering that cancer diagnosis, treatment and death represents.

One change brings another one, just like the stone that is thrown into the water. The observation of the model at MD Anderson and the warmth of Houston Hospice which I was able to know thanks to my friend, Dr. Sue Krauter, will for sure be of great influence in my initial contact with the palliative care patients at INCAN. I was impressed not only by the hospital and its superior high tech system and the kindness of the people there, but for the humanity and brightness of the people inside both institutions, who exercise and model the principles of Palliative medicine we read on books and manuals.

Dr. Eduardo Bruera has set a very high-quality standard for Palliative Care attention, based in a humble principle that is to work hard and with excellence with each and every patient making a reality the
paradigm of giving them the best quality of life possible until their last day. I’m glad that I can begin my work, here, with our own limitations making palliative care a reality for our patients, and a culture to be developed among our doctors, nurses and other workers at INCAN.

How all this is going to help me and my country for the development of an effective palliative care program? I had the highest standard example of it in a service at MD Anderson and the Houston Hospice, but I saw it working as a life philosophy in every people that has devoted a life to it, with no exception, every one I could met, that is on a Palliative care work position models compassion, esteem and empathy for each patient, and that goes beyond any instruction, class, book or diploma
you can get. This experience has given me what I could not have learned by reading or investigating. The best lesson came from the dedication of the people who devote time with patients, who look directly in their eyes, who work hard for keeping patients comfortable by controlling their symptoms, give family support and keep their dignity during the process of a chronic and active disease. I think that just as their case, palliative care will be well promoted in my country through that attitude of service and humbleness, and also the disposition of giving to others from the abundance that we have received.

Thanks again for your time and dedication throughout this great experience! As my life goes on, the time that I won’t spend with my loved ones, or in the process of learning symptom control and palliative medicine, I’ll dedicate it to the development of a palliative care program that fulfills those high standards of quality in the attention of our needed patients.

Dr. Eva Rossino Duarte
Instituto Nacional de Cancerologia (INCAN)
Guatemala City, Guatemala.