On October 17, 125 health care professionals and medical and nursing students participated in an international symposium on Cicely Saunders's life and contribution to palliative care, which she worked in as a doctor, nurse and social worker (1918-2005). The conference was jointly organized by the ATLANTES Research Program of the Institute for Culture and Society at the University of Navarra, the Navarra Society for Palliative Care (PALIAN) and the Palliative Care Service unit at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Pamplona.

David Clark, the Director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Studies of the University of Glasgow (Scotland) and a visiting professor at the University of Navarra, gave the inaugural lecture entitled "Making sense of Cicely Saunders." Martina Holder-Franz, who hails from the University of Bern (Switzerland), then gave a presentation on "The significance of theology in the life and work of Cicely Saunders."

These lectures were followed by a round table on "The personal experience of translating Cicely Saunders in the book Velad Conmigo. Inspiración para una vida en Cuidados Paliativos." The following speakers participated: Enric Benito, from the Coordinating Center on Palliative Care Program in the Balearic Islands, Isabel Neto, of the Palliative Care unit at the Hospital da Luz (Lisbon), Marcos Lama, a medical doctor within the Palliative Care Service unit at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Pamplona, and Carlos Centeno, principal investigator of ICS ATLANTES program and director of the Palliative Care Unit within the Clinica Universidad de Navarra.

Finally, attendees worked with Cicely Saunders's texts and letters in the two workshops on "The spiritual thought of Cicely Saunders and its influence on the current practice of palliative care" and "Cicely Saunders and the development of palliative care in the sociological field."

"Palliative care benefits from everyone who is involved in the process"el proceso"

At the symposium, Carlos Centeno showed the value of Cicely Saunders' contributions, life and work, saying, "She was a pioneer in understanding the idea that it is essential to treat the person as a whole at the end of life. She understood that when a person suffers, he does as a whole. Thus, she coined the phrase "total pain."

For his part, Marcos Lama highlighted that Cicely Saunders's vision on palliative care still applies: "It is valuable for both the general population— since we all face the loss of loved ones— and professionals in as far as they deal with patient care and caring for patients' families." In this regard, he added that Saunders's work could help make "progress in this field, where we still have a long way to go."

Martina Franz Holder also referred to Cicely Saunders's worldwide legacy. She recalled that, before her death in 2005, in the UK alone around 600 care centers had built in her palliative care concepts. She also emphasized that Saunders's work has inspired other pioneers of the new palliative care movement in Europe, the United States, India and Australia. With regard to her session on the importance of theology in Saunders' life and work, she noted that, "for her, God is compassionate and urges people to practice solidarity with those who suffer and with all creation. She summed up her own motivation this way: ‘The Christian imperative is to care.'"

On the other hand, Enric Benito stressed that "recovering a sense of who we are, what we are doing here and what the meaning of life is can arise from intense human experiences, such as living through the dying process with maturity." In his view, palliative care, "in addition to presupposing humanized care that benefits everyone involved in the process, is an opportunity to awaken the spiritual dimension that shapes us as human beings through a transformative experience."

For more information, see the following links:

http://hsjdpamplona.com/es/comunicacion/symposium-internacional-cicely-saunders

http://www.unav.edu/web/instituto-cultura-y-sociedad/proyecto-atlantes/actividades/symposium-cicely-saunders-2015