Embracing Compassion in Palliative Care

Embracing Compassion in Palliative Care

– Mr. Sandeep Singh, Bathinda

I began my professional journey as a Nursing Officer in various private hospitals across Punjab, working in departments such as the Emergency Ward, ICU, and General Ward. During this time, I cared for many cancer patients. Yet, despite this experience, I had never come across the term palliative care.

In 2023, my path took a meaningful turn when I got the opportunity to work under the Comprehensive Coordinated Community-Based Palliative Care Project (C3PaC) at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bathinda, with the support and guidance of Dr. Mayank Gupta.  I was introduced to the world of palliative care – a field that focuses not just on treating illness but on improving the quality of life for patients and their families, especially those living with serious and life-limiting conditions like cancer.

As part of the C3PaC team, I had the privilege of visiting patients in both hospital and home settings. I met numerous individuals and families battling not just the disease but also the challenges of daily life – unrelenting pain, emotional trauma, financial hardship, the cost of medications, school fees, food insecurity, transportation difficulties, and more. I witnessed firsthand how often patients felt unheard and isolated. Gradually, I learned to recognize and respond to their needs with a holistic approach, striving to bring comfort, dignity, and support to every aspect of their journey.

During one of our visits to a remote village, we met S (name withheld), a breast cancer patient whose situation was truly heart-wrenching. She lived in extreme poverty, with no source of income and no one to accompany her to the hospital. She was in excruciating pain, with a severe, bleeding wound on her right chest, poorly covered by just a cotton cloth.

Our palliative care team assessed her condition, cleaned the wound, and provided proper bandaging. We educated her elderly husband on daily wound care and supplied necessary pain medication with clear instructions. Additionally, we arranged for ration support to ease the family’s burden. With regular home visits and phone follow-ups, the patient gradually improved. Today, she is pain-free, mobile, and her wound has healed significantly. Her transformation has been nothing short of a miracle – not just physically, but emotionally and spiritually.

The words of the elderly mother still echo in my heart: “No one had ever come to my home to ask about my health before.” Each time we visit, her heartfelt blessings, reaffirm the purpose and meaning of our work.

Through this journey, I have come to understand that palliative care is not only about prescribing medicines. Often, simply sitting with a patient, listening to them, and offering our presence becomes a ray of hope in their darkest moments. This work has taught me to truly feel the pain of others – and, more importantly, to help relieve it in ways that beyond medicine.

We continue to serve many such patients at AIIMS Bathinda and in the surrounding communities, going door to door, with the belief that dignity and compassion must be at the heart of care.  I will continue walking this path of service with pride and purpose.