Home Health Care strives to provide patients and their families with the best care possible. In the spirit of promoting education and awareness, Home Health Care’s very own Dr. Mary Jean Villareal-Guno helped organize the Palliative Care Symposium on Symptom Management last November 4, 2011.

Dr. Villareal-Guno, also the Assistant Secretary of Hospice Philippines, is one of the country’s movers and shakers in hospice and palliative care. As the President of Home Health Care, Dr. Villareal-Guno aims to lead a much-needed paradigm shift in Philippine health care, which is why she has actively participated in the movement to promote palliative medicine in the country.

After all, caring for loved ones and patients with life-limiting illnesses is especially challenging, considering the many questions that it provokes. Is life to be preserved at all costs? When does medical treatment do more harm than good? In terms of life support and resuscitation, where does a physician draw the line?

Contrary to what Forrest Gump said, life is not like a box of chocolates. Not everything in life is going to be a pleasant treat; there will always be something that you shall find too spicy, sour, or bitter for your taste. For instance, as a caregiver, you probably know that caring for an ill loved one comes with all the above flavors. You might even come face to face with a syndrome that is considered unpalatable: caregiver fatigue.