Great work Dr. Sima Pendharkar!

Excellent thread

Today we remember Rita Levi-Montalcini on her birthday — a trailblazing neurologist who defied fascism, sexism, and exile to uncover the secrets of the brain. From a hidden lab in her bedroom to a Nobel Prize, her legacy is one of courage, brilliance, and resilience. 🧠💪

Beautiful piece in The Guardian about a Danish palliative care unit. "There are three things that are important for someone dying to get the opportunity to say...'Forgive me. I forgive you. And I love you.'” Ira Byock, someone’s been reading your stuff... theguardian.com/society/2025/a…

Every word of Dr. Charlotte Grinberg’s piece resonates deeply. We can debate how govt $$ is spent—but the lack of investment in caring for dying patients is unfathomable. When I tell people how little Medicare pays hospices to cover *everything*, they’re stunned. This needs to change.

Journal of Palliative Medicine Brief Report: Even when prognosis is short, depression should be routinely screened and promptly assessed, with proactive care delivered. There is an urgent need for clinician training, service linkage, research, and cultural change liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.10…

Secretions at end of life are a normal part of dying, often indicating the person is very settled and deeply asleep- Here’s a thread on this to explain more 🧵

I agree with Dr. Dugdale: this bill, though well-intentioned, is deeply flawed. Patients must be screened for depression & psychiatric illness—& seen by palliative care to ensure symptoms are fully managed. Without strong safeguards, vulnerable people may die needlessly.

👏 Heartened by this statement from American Heart Association encouraging broader integration of palliative care in cardiovascular disease. While our role in heart failure is well known (hopefully), PC has been underutilized in other cardiac conditions. An important & overdue step forward

From Kim Fellner, a beautiful reminder that the doctor-patient relationship is a partnership — not always in perfect agreement, but one built on mutual respect. She & her palliative care doctor show how two different people can work together with grace, honesty, and compassion.

A sobering piece by Louise Perry: MAiD isn’t about increasing access to dignified suicide—that’s existed as long as we have. Instead, it leads to more suicides overall, especially among the costliest patients. This isn’t compassion; it’s cost-cutting. nytimes.com/2025/07/22/opi…

S. 2287 boosts training & resources to tackle real gaps in palliative care. Too many seriously ill patients don’t get the support they need. Kudos to Sen. Tammy Baldwin for leading this long overdue, practical step toward better care for patients & families. quiverquant.com/news/New+Bill%…

Deeply moving piece by Stephanie Nolen—Tatiana's advocacy for dignity in death is powerful. But admiration for her courage doesn’t erase the ethical concerns of MAiD. Also--where was Palliative Care?! Hard not to wonder about missed chances to offer another path. nytimes.com/2025/08/03/hea…

“Once you accept that life is not sacred... then some of us have to go forward and say, ‘We’ll do it.’” Once you accept that doctors who end the lives of healthy patients don't believe in the sanctity of human life...then some of us have to go forward and say, "Enough already."

Fully agree. The role of doctors—& governments—is to optimize life, not end it. Suicide has existed for as long as people have, well before medical or government involvement was ever considered. Our participation in this process is unnecessary, conflicted, and deeply problematic.

Early palliative care involvement reduced readmissions in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. A good reminder that PC has a broad role to play across a wide variety of chronic serious illnesses. Great work by Aya Akhras, MD and team. journals.lww.com/jcge/abstract/…

First came across David Baltimore in a college AIDS course (memorable name for a native MDer). His pioneering work reshaped our understanding of HIV & left a lasting mark on human health & scientific innovation. May his memory be an inspiration & blessing. nytimes.com/2025/09/07/sci…

Valuable info for PCPs & others caring for folks with advanced illness. This stepwise approach to distinguishing opioid toxicity from natural dying should be particularly useful for those less familiar with managing higher-dose opioids. sciencedirect.com/science/articl…