Want to help those who suffer?

You want to serve people or you want to alleviate some suffering. There is a need right here right now within our nation.

Mission trips do not need to be foreign.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2009/06/02/dying-pain-report-602.html

“Throughout Newfoundland and Labrador many of the most vulnerable, terminally ill and those with life-limiting illnesses continue to suffer hideously,” says a needs assessment report completed last fall for the Dr. H. Bliss Murphy Cancer Centre in St. John’s. CBC News obtained a copy of the report, which has not yet been publicly released.

“They struggle daily for medications and services and such as medical care, home care, nursing and medical care. They struggle through the bureaucratic roller-coaster of endless paperwork for admission to acute care, respite care, palliative care and long-term care facilities … because of the lack of these same basic services in their individual communities.”

The report, written by Fiona Shaw, found that palliative care is currently a specialized service available to less than 10 per cent of the people who die in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The report found that the lack of services is only bound to become more serious, as cancer is expected to eclipse cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in Newfoundland and Labrador.