Dublin hosts international Down Syndrome event

Adults with Down Syndrome from across the globe are meeting in Dublin today to discuss the issues that affect their lives. The gathering is the first-ever International Synod of People with Down Syndrome. Around 100 people with Down Syndrome will discuss what it means to have a disability, along with issues like employment and independent living. Independent

Right-to-die teenager now says 'I want to live'

A critically ill Herefordshire teenager who won the right to die changed her mind and is now “feeling brilliant” after a heart transplant. Hannah Jones’ father Andrew revealed that the 14-year-old leaukaemia and cardiomyopathy patient changed her mind because she was “enjoying her life” and wanted more of it. Birmingham Post

Lies We are Told about Multiple Sclerosis

Many of us were diagnosed years ago and, let’s face it, medical science has come a long way in understanding our disease. Some of the things we were told then may have been current thinking (think “pain is not a symptom of MS”). Some of what we were told, however, is simply not true. Everyday Health

LIFT Caregiver Summit registration information

Download the LIFT Caregiver Summit brochure to get full workshop and speaker information, as well as all the details for registration for the October 24 event.

What is LIFT? PowerPoint available

The What is LIFT? PowerPoint (PDF version) is available for download. You can use it in your church, Sunday school, or just to familiarize yourself with this respite program of Baptists for Life. If you'd prefer the full PPT file (which comes with slide transitions, animations, and notes), email us.

Oregon's assisted suicide law blamed on poor care

The fact that a US state with inadequate end-of-life care and low patient trust allows assisted suicide is no basis for changing the UK law, a doctor has warned. Since 1997 physician assisted suicide has been legal in Oregon for terminally ill patients. Assisted suicide lobbyists have called for a similar system to be adopted in the UK. But palliative care specialist Dr David Jeffrey says the law there is seen as a “safety net” by “a society which has little trust in its doctors’ ability to provide effective end-of-life care.” Many patients in Oregon are excluded from the kinds of palliative treatment available in the UK, argues Dr Jeffrey in an article featured in this month’s issue of Evangelicals Now. Christian Institute, Evangelicals Now

Living with a terminal illness

Five people with terminal illnesses movingly discuss what it really means to die: the despair, anger, hope – even humor. Times Online

Quadriplegic man wins legal right to to starve himself to death

A court has granted the suicidal wish of 49- year-old Mr Christian Rossiter, who said he wanted to die by not eating or drinking. Once an active sportsman who enjoyed rock climbing, former stockbroker Mr Rossiter told the Supreme Court of West Australia that his condition meant he could not even blow his nose or 'wipe the tears from my eyes.' Asking the court to be given permission to have all nutrition stopped at the nursing home where he is being cared for, he said his last wish would be for painkillers to make him drowsy and to be watching TV 'to make the time pass' before he died. Daily Mail

Pet Therapy and Depression

Can owning a cat, dog, or other pet help you cope with the blues? Pet therapy, also known as animal-assisted therapy, is recognized by the National Institute of Mental Health as a type of psychotherapy for treating depression and other mood disorders. Being around pets appears to feed the soul, promoting a sense of emotional connectedness and overall well-being. Learn what research is saying about the role of companion animals in helping people cope with depression. Everyday Health

Emanuel's Brother Becomes a Target

Ezekiel Emanuel, a top health-care adviser to President Barack Obama and older brother of White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, is emerging as a target of conservatives critical of Democrats' health-care effort. Dr. Emanuel, a prominent oncologist and medical ethicist who has taught at Harvard Medical School and served at the National Institutes of Health, has written dozens of scholarly articles over the years. Critics are using his writings to suggest Dr. Emanuel favors withholding care from the elderly and disabled. Wall Street Journal

Care burden 'makes patients ill'

Some chronically ill patients are so overburdened by treatment that it makes their health worse, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal. BBC News

The alternative to euthanasia?

Polls suggest that while a majority of the public [UK] would support a change in the law to allow assisted dying, most doctors are against it. But there is evidence that some clinicians may already be using continuous deep sedation, as a form of "slow euthanasia." Research suggests use of CDS in Britain is particularly high - accounting for about one in six of all deaths. BBC News

Suicide, euthanasia link seen as `ironic'

Catholic Church leaders have told a parliamentary committee it was "ironic" that Tasmania was on one hand trying to deal with a rising suicide rate and on the other considering the legalisation of euthanasia. Examiner

Alzheimer's Caregiving: Avoiding Burnout

Alzheimer's disease doesn't just affect the patient. The physical and emotional tolls of having a loved one with Alzheimer's disease are particularly difficult when you are a caregiver. Learn what you can do to care for yourself while providing Alzheimer's care. Everyday Health

What lies beneath

The debate — OK, the shouting match — we are having over "health-care reform" is about many things, including cost, who gets help and who does not and who, or what, gets to make that determination. Underlying it all is a larger question: Is human life something special? . . . The bottom line is not the bottom line. It is something far more profound. Our decisions regarding who will get help and who won't are about more than bean-counting bureaucrats deciding if your drugs or operation will cost more than you are contributing to the U.S. Treasury. Cal Thomas

10 Reasons Rationing Is In The Health Care Overhaul

Family Research Council

Reform oversteps on end-of-life issues

Section 1233 [of the health reform package now before Congress] goes beyond facilitating doctor input [about end-of-life planning] to preferring it. Indeed, the measure would have an interested party -- the government -- recruit doctors to sell the elderly on living wills, hospice care and their associated providers, professions and organizations. You don't have to be a right-wing wacko to question that approach. Washington Post

Bring Youth Back Into Your Life

When's the last time you doodled with a crayon or dipped an Oreo in a glass of milk? According to chronic pain blogger Sue Falkner-Wood, taking part in some of these simple childhood pleasures can help ease your pain. Everyday Health

Blacks Never -- and Minorities Rarely -- Use Oregon's Assisted Suicide Law

Since Oregon enacted its first-in-the-nation law to allow assisted suicides, 401 people have used the law to take their lives with the help of a physician. Yet, of those deaths, 391 involved white people. None involved African-Americans, just seven people were Asian, two Hispanic and one Native American. A new article in the Journal of Clinical Ethics examines why and finds that 80 percent of terminally ill patients never consider assisted suicide. Patricia King, a law professor at Georgetown University who has written about blacks and assisted suicide, explains that historic African-American values may be at odds with the practice. A combination of distrust of the health care system and pro-life values coming from strong religious views may play a part. LifeNews

Study of those who don't use assisted suicide law

A new study by two Oregon doctors concludes that the vast majority of dying Oregonians are either not interested in or medically ineligible to participate in Oregon's doctor-assisted suicide option. From 1998 through 2007, about 296,000 Oregonians died of all causes. About 99,000 died of the same diseases as afflicted the 341 people who ended their lives with a legally prescribed overdose. "This is a very small number at the end of life," said Dr. Katrina Hedberg, lead author and interim state epidemiologist. "It's not surprising. It takes a pretty assertive individual." Seattle Post-Intelligencer

When Insomnia Strikes

Insomnia is a common problem for patients with cancer, whether due to pain, medication side effects, or even depression. Find out how Everyday Health blogger Jennifer Way copes with restless nights.

Terri Schiavo's death not peaceful

In Terri's last days, while Michael Schiavo's attorney was telling reporters he'd never seen Terri so "beautiful," the Schindler siblings were begging their mother not to visit her daughter, whose starvation had ravaged her body almost beyond recognition. Lutheran Reporter

I'm proof you should never give up on life

During Terry Waite's four long years of captivity as a hostage in Beirut, the flame of hope sometimes burned low. "Towards the end of my imprisonment, however, I was faced with my greatest trial. . . . I developed a severe lung infection. . . . My lungs were full of fluid. And what made my predicament even worse was the feeling that I was being a terrible burden to my fellow hostages, that my agonised breathing was a torment for them. I have to confess that in this bleakest moment of despair, I did think that death might be preferable to the life I was enduring. But then the power of the human spirit prevailed - and I fought back against my morbid, negative thoughts. Gradually, my health recovered - and I began the climb out of my pit of gloom. I am enormously grateful that I never gave up and surrendered to that fatal impulse." Daily Mail

A grief conserved

Perinatal hospice offers an alternative to the trauma of aborting a disabled child. World

The One Who Smiles A Lot

Twenty five years or so ago, as a family physician in a Christian mission practice in London, I used to help out at a monthly afternoon clinic with the now dated and politically incorrect name: “Handicapped Fellowship.” Patients with various physical and mental disabilities would be transported in by church members to receive health care, and would then enjoy a British afternoon tea, some entertainment, and a spiritual message. It was there that I met two sisters. CBHD

Obama Rationalizes Rationing in Health Care

Barbara Wagner, a Springfield, Oregon woman’s doctor hoped a new chemotherapy drug would help her but the Oregon Health Plan sent her a letter telling her they would not pay for the treatment, but would pay for assisted suicide. And she's not the only one to get a letter. The Cloakroom

Easy Recipes for Caregivers

These fast, healthy recipes are perfect for busy caregivers. Check out these recipes for every meal. Everyday Health

What Foods Should Be Avoided During Chemo?

Q: Are there any foods that should be avoided during chemotherapy? And if so, why? Are there any foods I should eat more of? Everyday Health

Get to Know . . .

The Alzheimer's Caregiver Center.

Alzheimer's Caregiving: Avoiding Burnout

Alzheimer's disease doesn't just affect the patient. The physical and emotional tolls of having a loved one with Alzheimer's disease are particularly difficult when you are a caregiver. Learn what you can do to care for yourself while providing Alzheimer's care. Everyday Health