Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-m9kch Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T07:53:50.991Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The existential moment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2003

BALFOUR M. MOUNT
BALFOUR M. MOUNT
Affiliation:
Eric M. Flanders Professor of Palliative Medicine, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

From earliest times, sages have advised us to become comfortable with transience, more than that, to be at peace with our approaching death and to keep it in constant view. Whatever the benefits of such a perspective, they must surely be harvested in abundance by those working in Palliative Care! An ongoing personal cost/benefit analysis of our daily confrontation with death is for many a legacy of the trade. “Why” questions are our persistent companions. They have colored my recent days as I holiday with my family in a cottage on Lac Massawippi in Quebec.

Type
Research Article
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 2003 , pp. 93 - 96
Copyright
© 2003 Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Campbell, J. (1988). The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers. New York: Doubleday.
Cohen, L. (1992). Anthem, The Future. Audio cd. Sony Recordsv.
Cohen, S.R., Boston, P., Mount, B.M., & Porterfield, P. (2001). Changes in quality of life following admission to palliative care units. Palliative Medicine, 15, 363–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S.R., Hassan, S.A., Lapointe, B.J., & Mount, B.M. (1996a). Quality of life in HIV disease as measured by the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire. AIDS, 10, 1421–1427.Google Scholar
Cohen, S.R., Mount, B.M., Bruera, E., Provost, M., Rowe, J., & Tong, K. (1997). Validity of the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire in the palliative care setting: A multi-center Canadian study demonstrating the importance of the existential domain. Palliative Medicine, 11, 3–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, S.R., Mount, B.M., Strobel, M.G., & Bui, F. (1995). The McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire: A measure of quality of life appropriate for people with advanced disease. A preliminary study of validity and acceptability. Palliative Medicine, 9, 207–219.Google Scholar
Cohen, S.R., Mount, B.M., Tomas, J., & Mount, L. (1996b). Existential well-being is an important determinant of quality of life: Evidence from the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire. Cancer, 77, 576.Google Scholar
Eliot, T.S. (1943). Four Quartets. New York: Harvest/HBJ.
Frankl, V. (1984). Man's Search for Meaning. 1959, revised and updated. New York: Washington Square Press.
Lewis, C.S. (1959). Surprised by Joy. London: Collins.
Martin, P.W. (1955). Experiment in Depth: A Study of the Work of Jung, Eliot and Toynbee. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Osborne, A. (1970). Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge. York Beach, Maine: Samuel Weiser.
Simmons, P. (2002). Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life. New York: Bantam Books.
Yalom, I. (1980). Existential Psychotherapy. New York: Basic Books.