A new documentary shedding light on the real and raw realities of palliative care premieres in theatres today.
Live the Life You Please, a documentary produced by Moonshine Agency, tells the personal stories of real people from across Australia and was created to help smash the taboos surrounding palliative care and the final chapter of life.
A mixture of everyday people and health experts, voices in the documentary echo the same sentiment “talking about death won’t kill you”.
The biggest myth is — palliative care is only about pain relief when in reality, the earlier palliative care starts, the longer you live.
Premiering today at the start of National Palliative Care Week, advocates are pushing open conversation around the reality of death to become better equipped to engage with life.
Juliane Samarra, a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner understands the importance of talking about this topic.
“Generations ago people died at home, cared for by their family. We have now hidden death and dying behind closed doors, either in nursing homes or hospitals,” she explained.
“We need to embrace death and dying as part of living. We need to be more comfortable talking about it and having those conversations so that we are more prepared when the time comes.”
Speaking on this week’s awareness campaign, #mattersoflifeanddeath, Camilla Rowland, Chief Executive Officer at Palliative Care Australia said it is a time to open the door on “the full scope and impact of palliative care and the quality of life it delivers.”
“Our workforce and volunteers have opened their hearts to share the life lessons they learn every day as they provide care and support to people and families living with life-limiting illnesses,” she said.
Palliative Care Nurses Australia also acknowledged the work done by nurses who significantly impact palliative care and its leadership every day while the world battles a global nursing workforce shortage and Australia’s ageing population requires increasing palliative care needs.
To find out which local cinema is playing the documentary or to host a film event to watch and share the message about palliative care, visit livethelifeyouplease.com