Dame Cecily Saunders, physician and founder of St. Christopher’s House Hospice in London, England, is credited with launching the modern hospice movement.  During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Dame Cecily pioneered an approach to caring for the dying that focused on symptom & pain control and not on curing the underlying terminal illness.

You matter because you are you, and you matter to the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die. –Dame Cicely Saunders

In 1975, Balfour Mount coined the term “palliative care” when he brought the movement to Canada.  Both hospice & palliative care movements have flourished in Canada and internationally.  Over time, these programs gradually evolved from individual, grass roots efforts to a cohesive movement that aims to relieve suffering and improve quality of life for those who are living with or dying from an illness.