When my husband, John, was diagnosed with leukemia in 1998, we needed help. This need continued during his aggressive medical treatments and his eventual death. Professional assistance with managing the physical, emotional and cognitive transitions inherent with intense medical issues was not readily available. Since that time, I have had a nagging concern for other families experiencing terminal illness, death and bereavement.

Why must patients be within six months of expected death before receiving comfort care? How can support be provided for individuals choosing to continue minimally successful curative treatments who also need assistance with end of life issues? How can patients and their families be better educated so their decisions concerning terminal illness are based on facts?

Sparrow Health System's recent establishment of the Palliative Care Program is a positive step in the direction of increased choice and improvement in caring for people at or nearing the end of life. To palliate is to comfort. Palliative care is not covered under current reimbursement regulations; therefore I am asking for your help to create community based financial support for this program, hence assuring its continuation.

The John F. Cawood Jr. Memorial Fund for Palliative Care has been established, with assistance from Sparrow Hospice Services and the Sparrow Foundation, to provide funding for the Palliative Care Program. This innovative, life-affirming program speaks to John's abiding concern for others, interest in community improvement and his courageous approach to terminal illness and death. The program's interdisciplinary team consists of physician, nurses, social workers, chaplains, case managers and nutritionists specially trained in palliative care. The team provides medical assistance, education, emotional support and reassurance for hospitalized patients, and families of patients, receiving curative or life-prolonging treatments for diseases expected to eventually take their lives. Sparrow's Palliative Care Program represents the beginning of extended services for families burdened with a terminal illness or life limiting disease.

Eventually, we will all face our own impending death or the death of a loved one. It is my hope that each of us will have access to the expert knowledge, resources and compassionate care available through an established palliative care program.

I encourage you to become a member of "John's Club" by lending your support, financial and educational, to Sparrow's Palliative Care Program. To learn more about palliative care the opportunities to act on behalf of the terminally ill and their families, please contact Patricia Zeck at the Sparrow Foundation at 517.364.5692 or me at 517.349.6448. Thank you for considering how you can be a part of this important community services.