Cancer patient living life to the full with palliative care
A referral to ‘palliative care’ set off alarm bells for Greg Burgess – but far from signalling the end of life, the Loughrea resident says the care he has received as a community-based patient of Galway Hospice has enabled him to live life...even with a life-limiting condition.
Greg was diagnosed with Stage 2 bladder cancer two and a half years ago and struggled with the side-effects of chemotherapy, he tells the Connacht Tribune in an interview to raise awareness as part of Palliative Care Week which runs until Saturday.
The 60-year-old father-of-three says it was an accident while playing with his “little hero” Buffy, his Jack Russell-cross dog, which led to the series of tests that uncovered he had cancer – he had no symptoms and had been feeling well.
The chemo and immunotherapy followed, and Greg’s cancer is stable.
“I have a tumour on my bladder but it’s gone into the muscle wall of the bladder,” he explains, and that comes with a risk of metastasising.
During and after the chemotherapy, Greg also developed some secondary issues and it was during a hospital visit that it was suggested he talk to a palliative care team.
Palliative care, to him at that time, represented end-of-life care. His late partner, Leigh, had received palliative care in Galway Hospice before her death.
“It was one of the nurses in Portiuncula, where there is a fantastic oncology unit – she suggested putting me on the path to get a palliative care team to have a look at me,” says Greg.
From there, the palliative care team from Galway Hospice began working with Greg – tweaking his medicines to ensure their efficacy and providing regular support through home visits and calls.
Caption: Greg Burgess with Senior Occupational Therapist at Galway Hospice, Jessica Duggan.
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