Everyone has experienced some suffering in their life, often through illness, and, of course, everyone wants to heal. This is a book about healing based on Louis Heyse-Moore's forty years of experience as a doctor, counsellor and a Somatic Experiencing trauma therapist. The author believes healing is much more than just physical cure. Over the many years that he has worked with ill people, it has become obvious to him that their body, mind and spirit are all affected when they are sick. Many doctors are excellent at treating and curing physical illnesses but may miss the other aspects of healing. The Case of the Disappearing Cancer attempts to redress the balance. A word picture is worth a million theoretical abstractions. A good story is one that engages us at gut level. Not just thinking, but also feeling, emoting, remembering, relating; soulfulness in other words. It makes us come alive. This book does just that.

...members of the caring professions need all the counselling skills that we can muster. Readers of this book will end up feeling less helpless in the face of death but we should not expect to find communication easy. "What can we say?" Once we think we know what to say we are wrong. Rather this book will help us to learn when to speak of dying and when not to, what not to say and when to keep silent and wait patiently for what gliding instructors call an 'up-draught'. We must start from wherever the other person may be and we must take the time and trouble to discover the language with which this person speaks about death and dying, the assumptions they make and their needs and wishes to speak or not to speak. - From the Foreword by Dr Colin Murray Parkes, Life President of Cruse Bereavement Care Good counselling skills are often not taught to the professionals who need them most. Compassionate and tactful communication skills can make the difference between an awkward encounter with a dying patient, and an engaging, empathic bond between two people. Louis Heyse-Moore draws on his wealth of experience as a trained counsellor and palliative medicine specialist. Covering difficult subjects such as breaking the news of terminal illness to a patient, euthanasia and the effect of working with patients on carers, Speaking of Dying is a practical guide to using counselling skills for all clinical disciplines working in palliative care, whether in a hospice, hospital or at home. Complete with a clear explanation of both counselling and medical terminology, this hands-on guide will be an invaluable companion to anyone working in palliative care.

A collection of accounts exploring the personal and professional experiences of palliative care workers. The contributors, who are based at hospices such as St Joseph's in Hackney, demonstrate the positive impact of reflective practice for families and individuals who have experienced or are experiencing bereavement. They explain how and why they came to work in palliative care and what they bring to the work - as well as the ways in which the work has enriched their own lives Including descriptive examples of their own work with clients and families they discuss: how to deal with your own emotions as well as those of the client; moral dilemmas you may come up against in your work; managing denial in patients and carers; general ethical questions in cancer and palliative care work; and the use of narrative and story-telling in care work.