Examining the experience of assisted dying. Karen Mansfield’s mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer earlier this year and opted for an assisted death. Karen talks us through that experience. Palliative care nurse Archana Gaunder describes the lessons she learned from her first experience caring for patient who’d decided on to go out on his own terms. A statement from Hospice Waikato: Fundamentally, Hospice Waikato exists to help patients live every moment, and treatment is focused on...

Kaiāwhina, Maori, Grief, Loss and the Love of a Good Dog. In a wide ranging and deeply felt interview Hospice Waikato’s Kaiāwhina Honey Hireme-Smiler talks about her work supporting Maori patients and their whanau and her own experiences with grief and loss. There’s a perception among Maori that Hospice is a Pakeha thing, it’s not. Hospice is for everyone and accommodates all cultural needs. The next episode of the Last Breath Episode is about assisted dying and we start that discussion...

There is a Crack in Everything, That's how the Light Gets In. Episode 8 takes us to the coal face of death with palliative care nurse and educator Emily Fyfe and we leave no stone unturned as we examine the actualities of death. We talk about difficult deaths, good deaths, complex deaths and how all this effects the dying person and their families. What things cause the dying the most anxiety? Should children be included or excluded from the dying process? Emily explains medical terms,...

A Woman is Like a Teabag, You Can’t tell How Strong She is Until You Put Her in Hot Water. Maxine and her partner Callum were in their 30s and living their best lives when Callum was diagnosed with terminal cancer. In this episode Maxine Exely describes Calum’s death, the stages of grief, the challenges and the heartache while reflecting on the lessons that altered the course of her life in ways she didn’t anticipate. Hospice Waikato, in association with Free FM, presents The Last Breath –...

Carrie Rauber started out as a massage therapist before moving into administration. She talks about the emotional toll caring for the dying can take, the spiritual services Hospice offers and reminds us that we continue to evolve right up to our last breath. Adam Bruce was a tradesman painter but at the mid point of his life wanted something more meaningful so he went back to school and trained to be counsellor. Now working at the frontline of patient care he talks about the experiences...

This episode is all about the work of the palliative care nurse. Kevin Tardiff and Sarah Clunie talk about their work caring for those who have reached the end of their life journey. Hospice Waikato, in association with Free FM, presents The Last Breath – A Podcast About Death And Dying.

Bernard Arthur talks about his life journey and the stage four emphysema that is bringing it to a close. Clinical nurse educator Zoe Anderson-Howell talks about the vocation of nursing, the joy of working in palliative care, the importance of having a death plan and being open and honest about life’s one true certainty and as she says talking about dying doesn’t make you die faster.

Hospice Supports Every Person to Live Life Well Until Their Last Breath Susan Hassall University of Waikato Pro-Chancellor, Hospice Waikato board member and acting CEO of Hospice Waikato talks about the difference Hospice makes to the lives of patients and families including her own. Her husband James died a year ago and she wonders how it might have been without the care and support that Hospice provided. Then there’s the issue of funding. In an insightful and penetrating interview...

In this series I’m talking to the bereaved, the dying and the people who care for them and as we explore the work of Hospice we are also exploring the process of death while lifting the veil from a subject that is seldom addressed in a open and forthright manner. In a profound interview Grief Counsellor and Family Services Team Leader Charmaine Smit talks about grief, forgiveness, the recent loss of her husband Pete and the importance of loving with intent. Impressed with the way Hospice...

Andrew Johnstone talks with Hospice Waikato’s Volunteer Services manager Karen Mansfield, and Sam Simpkins, a nurse and mother of two whose husband Shane died in January 2016.