On Thursday, May 30, the Aula Magna of the Barcelona Campus hosted the presentation of the latest book by the Mallorcan oncologist Enric Benito, invited by the University’s WeCare Chair. As Dr. Joaquim Julià, co-director of the Chair, emphasized in his words of welcome: “It is an honor to have a world reference in palliative care such as Dr. Benito, with whom we share the values that identify us such as attention, compassion and humanization in the care of people”.
In the first part of the event, TVE journalist Núria Ramírez talked with Dr. Benito about his work, in which he collects personal stories of patients he has seen die in hospital palliative units. In a relaxed and close atmosphere, Benito shared his experience of more than forty years as an oncologist and palliative physician, as well as his main personal and professional lessons learned. With the certainty that “dying is a very organized process”, Benito reminded the audience that “dying is not the opposite of living, but of being born”, so that it is essential “to live in an integral, happy way, but not in the hedonic sense but in the sense of coherence with oneself, of loving, of learning from life” in order not to be afraid of death and to live the final stage of life in a calm and serene way.
The oncologist also explained that death is still a taboo in today’s society and that it is important, when the time comes, for professionals and family “not to deceive the patient, but to manage the information given based on what the patient wants to know so as not to generate suffering and a feeling of loneliness”.
The second part of the event included the participation of Dr. María Nabal, head of Palliative Care at the Arnau de Vilanova University Hospital in Lleida, who spoke and shared experiences with Dr. Benito, accompanied by Ramírez.
Both experts regretted that currently a large part of the population does not have access to palliative care and pointed out the need to train active professionals and future healthcare professionals so that they have the necessary skills to “accompany patients in the final stage of life, offering them not only medical care, but also spiritual care, which is of great relevance at such moments”. Along these lines, both called for a Palliative Care Law that guarantees people their right to be well cared for at the end of life.
You can access the complete recording of the event here
