Dame Cicely Saunders, the woman who changed end-of-life care for the better, was born 100 years ago today.
Instrumental in advancing hospice care in the UK, helping people to die with dignity, Dame Cicely is commemorated with a Google Doodle to mark her centenary. It is largely thanks to her interventions that palliative care is what it is today.
Trained as a nurse and social worker and later becoming a doctor, she founded the first modern hospice, St Christopher’s, in south London.
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of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago 96/100 George Boole Google marks George Boole's 200th birthday 97/100 Halloween 2015 Google celebrates Halloween using an interactive doodle game "Global Candy Cup" 98/100 Prague Astronomical Clock Google celebrates the 605th anniversary of the Prague Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest functioning timepieces in the world 99/100 Autumnal Equinox 2015 Google marks the autumnal equinox on 23 September 100/100 International Women's Day 2018 Google marks IWD with a doodle featuring a dozen female artists from 12 different countries 1/100 Octavia E Butler Google Doodle celebrating Octavia E Butler Google 2/100 Dame Cicely Saunders Google Doodle celebrating Dame Cicely Saunders Google 3/100 Virginia Apgar Google Doodle celebrating 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Holi Google Doodle celebrating Holi Google 18/100 St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google 19/100 Carter G Woodson Google Doodle celebrating Carter G Woodson Google 20/100 Wilder Penfield Google Doodle celebrating Wilder Penfield Google 21/100 Virginia Woolf Google Doodle celebrating Virginia Woolf Google 22/100 Sergei Eisenstein Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Eisenstein Google 23/100 Winter Solstice Google Doodle celebrating Winter Solstice Google 24/100 St Andrew's Day Google Doodle celebrating St Andrew's Day Google 25/100 Gertrude Jekyll Google Doodle celebrating Gertrude Jekyll Google 26/100 Children's Day 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Children's Day 2017 Google 27/100 Cornelia Sorabji Google Doodle celebrating Cornelia Sorabji Google 28/100 Pad Thai Google Doodle celebrating Pad Thai Google 29/100 Jackie Forster Google Doodle celebrating Jackie Forster Google 30/100 Halloween 2017 Google Doodle celebrating Halloween 2017 Google 31/100 Studio for Electronic Music Google Doodle celebrating the Studio for Electronic Music Google 32/100 Selena Quintanilla Google Doodle celebrating Selena Quintanilla Google 33/100 Olaudah Equiano Google Doodle celebrating Olaudah Equiano Google 34/100 Fridtjof Nansen Google Doodle celebrating Fridtjof Nansen Google 35/100 Amalia Hernandez Google Doodle celebrating Amalia Hernandez Google 36/100 Dr Samuel Johnson Google Doodle celebrating Dr Samuel Johnson Google 37/100 Sir John Cornforth Google Doodle celebrating Sir John Cornforth Google 38/100 British Sign Language Google Doodle celebrating British Sign Language Google 39/100 Eduard Khil Google Doodle celebrating Eduard Khil Google 40/100 James Wong Howe Google Doodle celebrating James Wong Howe Google 41/100 Eiko Ishioka Google Doodle celebrating Eiko Ishioka Google 42/100 Eva Ekeblad Google Doodle celebrating Eva Ekeblad Google 43/100 Fourth of July Google Doodle celebrating Fourth of July Google 44/100 Wimbledon Championship Google Doodle celebrating Wimbledon Google 45/100 Victor Hugo Google Doodle celebrating Victor Hugo Google 46/100 Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google Doodle celebrating Oskar Fischinger Google 47/100 UK General Election 2017 Google celebrates the UK General Election Google 48/100 Zaha Hadid Google celebrates the acclaimed architect for becoming the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize on this day in 2004 Google 49/100 Richard Oakes Google Doodle celebrating Richard Oakes' 75 birthday Google 50/100 Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google Doodle celebrating the Antikythera Mechanism Google 51/100 Ferdinand Monoyer The famous French ophthalmologist, who invented the eye test, would have celebrated his 181st birthday today Google 52/100 Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google Doodle celebrating Giro d'Italia's 100th Anniversary Google 53/100 Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google Doodle celebrating Nasa's Cassini probe Google 54/100 Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google Doodle celebrating Fazlur Rahman Khan Google 55/100 Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google Doodle celebrating Sergei Diaghilev Google 56/100 Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. Patrick's Day Google 57/100 Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google Doodle celebrating Holi Festival Google 58/100 Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google Doodle celebrating St. David's Day Google 59/100 Abdul Sattar Edhi Google Doodle of Abdul Sattar Edhi on February 28 2017 Google 60/100 Seven earth-sized exoplanets discovered Google Doodle celebrates Nasa's discovery of seven earth-sized exoplanets in new solar system Google 61/100 Bessie Coleman Google Doodle honours the first African American woman to get an international pilot licence on her 125th birthday Google 62/100 Caroling Google Doodle celebrates Christmas caroling Google 63/100 Today's Google Doodle features activist Steve Biko Google 64/100 Walter Cronkite Google celebrates Walter Cronkite's 100th birthday 65/100 Ladislao José Biro Google celebrates Ladislao José Biro 117th birthday 66/100 Google Google celebrates its 18th birthday 67/100 The history of tea in Britain Google celebrates the 385th anniversary of tea in the UK 68/100 Autumnal equinox 2016 Google marks the start of fall 69/100 Paralympics 2016 Google marks the start of the Paralympic Games 2016 70/100 Nettie Stevens Google celebrates Nettie Stevens 155th birthday 71/100 Father's Day 2016 Google celebrates Father's Day 72/100 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Google celebrates Elizabeth Garrett Anderson 180th birthday 73/100 Earth Day 2016 Google celebrates Earth Day 74/100 Ravi Shankar Google marks Pandit Ravi Shankar's 96th birthday 75/100 Olympic Games in 1896 Google are celebrates the 120th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in 1896 76/100 World Twenty20 final Google celebrates the 2016 World Twenty20 cricket final between the West Indies and England with a doodle Google 77/100 William Morris Google celebrates William Morris' 182 birthday with a doodle showcasing his most famous designs Google 78/100 St Patrick's Day 2016 Googlle celebrates St Patrick's Day on 17 March 79/100 Caroline Herschel Google marks Caroline Herschel's 266th birthday Google 80/100 Clara Rockmore Google celebrates Clara Rockmore's 105th birthday 81/100 International Women's Day 2016 #OneDayIWill video marks International Woman's Day on 8 March 82/100 St David's Day 2016 Google marks St David's Day Google 83/100 Leap Year 2016 Google celebrates Leap Day on 28 February 2 Google 84/100 Lantern Festival 2016 Google celebrates the last day of the Chinese New Year celebrations with a doodle of the Lantern Festival Google 85/100 Stethoscope Inventor, René Laennec Google celebrate's René Laennec's 235th birthday 86/100 Valentine's Day 2016 Google celebrates Valentine's Day with a romantic Doodle 87/100 Dmitri Mendeleev Google celebrate Dmitri Mendeleev's 182nd birthday 88/100 "The televisor" demonstartion Google Doodle celebrates 90 years since the first demonstration of television or "the televisor" to the public 89/100 Professor Scoville Google marks Professor Scoville’s 151st birthday 90/100 Sophie Taeuber-Arp Google marks Sophie Taeuber-Arp's 127th birthday 91/100 Charles Perrault Google celebrates author Charles Perrault's 388th birthday 92/100 Mountain of Butterflies discovery Google celebrates the 41st anniversary of the discovery of the Mountain of Butterflies 93/100 Winter Solstice 2015 Google celebrate the Winter Solstice 94/100 St Andrew's Day 2015 Google marks St Andrew's Day with doodle featuring Scotland's flag and Loch Ness monster 95/100 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy' Google marks the 41st anniversary of the discovery of 'Lucy', the name given to a collection of fossilised bones that once made up the skeleton of a hominid from the Australopithecus afarensis species, who lived in Ethiopia 3.2 million years ago 96/100 George Boole Google marks George Boole's 200th birthday 97/100 Halloween 2015 Google celebrates Halloween using an interactive doodle game "Global Candy Cup" 98/100 Prague Astronomical Clock Google celebrates the 605th anniversary of the Prague Astronomical Clock, one of the oldest functioning timepieces in the world 99/100 Autumnal Equinox 2015 Google marks the autumnal equinox on 23 September 100/100 International Women's Day 2018 Google marks IWD with a doodle featuring a dozen female artists from 12 different countries
She also co-founded a palliative care charity - Cicely Saunders International - and the Cicely Saunders Institute, which carries out research into end-of-life care.
Here are a five facts you might not know about her.
1. She started out as a nurse, to the displeasure of her parents
Coming from a well-off background her parents were not keen on getting into nursing, but it was where she found her calling, especially with the Second World War around the corner.
She soon swapped politics, philosophy and economics (PPE) at Oxford for nursing at the Nightingale School of Nursing at St Thomas’s Hospital, London.
A bad back prevented her from pursuing nursing more fully, however, directing her steps towards social work.
2. It all began after she fell for a man with only weeks to live
In 1948, she fell in love with David Tasma, a Polish Jew, while he was a patient at Archway Hospital in London where she was then based.
His experience made her see that there was so much more that needed to be done for those with life-limiting illnesses.
The pair became close friends and first talked about their shared vision for a hospice providing psychological support in addition to physical care.
He left her with £500 to make the vision a reality and the message: “I will be a window in your home”.
In 1967, she would open St Christopher’s Hospice in south London in Tasma's memory.
3. St Christopher's was more than just a place of rest
St Christopher’s was dedicated to providing holistic care for the terminally ill, including social, emotional and spiritual support as well as physical care and expert pain relief.
She wanted to create a bright and breezy place, with gardens and a welcoming atmosphere.
Family and friends were encouraged to visit and patients were invited to take part in a range of activities – from gardening to art to getting their hair done. Dame Cicely understood that simply having someone to talk to could be a major relief.
The institute aimed to celebrate life till the end, as well as making passing away easier and helping families come to terms with their bereavement.
4. She fell in love with three Polish men – and two of them were patients
After David Tasma, she fell for another man without long to live, Antoni Michniewicz, who was also Polish and a patient at St Joseph’s Hospice in east London, where she worked between 1952 and 1959.
But the relationship could not happen as he died six months later, throwing Dame Cecily into a deep grief, his death coinciding with that of her father.
The third Polish love of her life would come along three years later. Marian Bohusz-Szyszko was an artist, whom she met after first contacting him about purchasing a piece of his work for display in the hospice.
He had an estranged wife in Poland, but the friendship with Dame Cicely grew as the pair began writing to one another.
He eventually moved to England and became artist in residence at St Christopher’s.
Five year’s after his wife died, Marian married Dame Cicely when he was 79 and she was 61.
He lived to 93, before passing away within the confines of St Christopher’s.
5. She was over 6ft tall and quite a character
While she was widely known for her empathy, many who knew Dame Cicely also described her as an intense person. In addition to being tall, she was described as “intimidating”, “passionate” and “strong-willed” by her biographer, Professor David Clarke, in an interview with BBC Radio 4.
Others characterised her as something an outsider. She was also a woman of faith, having discovered Christianity as an adult, which helped to steer her throughout life.
She was given many awards and titles for achievements, including the Order of Merit, being named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire and receiving the coveted Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize.
She died from cancer in St Christopher’s in 2005, aged 87.
Dame Cicely Saunders is being honoured by Google on the occasion of what would have been her 100th birthday, but who is she? (Picture: Getty)
Dying with dignity, and in relative comfort, is something we all hope to be entitled to when the time comes.
Dame Cicely Saunders is the brilliant woman responsible for the establishment of UK hospices which provide this service.
She thereby helped establish the role of palliative care which, before her time, was not available on the NHS.
Here’s what we know about this compassionate and courageous nurse, who is being honoured by Google with a Doodle on what would have been her 100th birthday.
Young Dame Cicely when she was an undergraduate, and then a medical social worker (Picture: Getty)
Dame Cicely Saunders was born on 22 June 1918 in Barnet, Hertfordshire.
She decided to be a nurse midway through the Second World War in 1940, while she was studying a PPE at Oxford. By 1947 she had qualified as a medical social worker.
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A year later she fell in love with her patient, David Tasma, a Polish-Jewish refugee who, having escaped from the Warsaw ghetto in Nazi-occupied Poland, worked as a waiter.
He was dying of cancer and bequeathed her £500 to be ‘a window in your home’. This donation helped form Dame Cicely’s idea to build and run St Christopher’s, the first hospice she established in 1967.
Around the end of the 1940s Dame Cicely had converted to Christianity, and began working part-time at St Luke’s Home for the Dying Poor in Bayswater.
Founder of the Uk Hospice movement, dame cicely saunders. Credit St Christopher’s Hospice
Her experiences there led her to study to become a physician and by 1957 she had an MBBS, beginning life as a practicing doctor.
While working at St Joseph’s Hospice, a Catholic establishment in Hackney, she fell in love with another Polish man, who died shortly thereafter, in the same year as her father and another friend of hers.
The grief she felt was overwhelming, and at this point she decided to dedicate her life to helping people at the end of theirs.
Dame Cicely in the early 1950s (Picture: Getty)
Her thinking was that ‘as the body becomes weaker, so the spirit becomes stronger’.
Two years after being awarded an OBE, Dame Cicely set-up the first ever purpose-built hospice St Christpher’s in 1967.
The motto was: ‘You matter because you are you, and you matter until the end of your life. We will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also live until you die.’
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At the hospice, patients were not merely medically cared for, but were taken into the garden, visited by hairdressers and encouraged to socialise.
Pictured after becoming a doctor and establishing St Christopher’s (Picture: Getty)
The way music, performance and art was used to lift the quality of life of patients also went on to transform the way the NHS approached end-of-life care.
Through the late 1960s and 70s she gave hugely popular talks to the most influential doctors in the country on the nature of pain, and these talks helped re-mold modern medical ethics.
Her approach was that there was such a thing as ‘total pain’, in that you could be not just in physical pain, but also emotional, social, and spiritual distress.
Dame Cicely was one of the greatest humanitarians Britain has ever produced (Picture: Getty)
Dame Cicely’s work with the hospice meant she became a dame in 1979, and in 1981 she was awarded the Templeton Prize, the world’s richest annual prize awarded to an individual.
The Queen also awarded her the Order of Merit, and in 2001 she received the world’s largest humanitarian award – the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Prize, worth £700,000 – on behalf of St Christopher’s.
‘The door of hope must be shut slowly and gently’. Insightful words from Cicely Saunders' first publication, written while she was still a medical student. 'Dying of cancer', St Thomas’s Hospital Gazette, 56(2): 37-47; 1958. #CSCentenary #hpm — David Clark (@dumfriesshire) January 12, 2018
A year later she established the charitable organisation Cicely Saunders International, with the aim of ensuring as many people with progressive illnesses or who are reaching the end of their life could receive palliative care.
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A painting of Dame Cicely hangs in the National Portrait Gallery.
The Google Doodle image inspired by Dame Cicely (Picture: Google)
Despite losing two major loves in her life, Dame Cicely did get married at the age of 61.
In 1980 she wed Polish painter Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, who she’d known for many years and whose art adorned the walls of St Christopher became a patron of his art.
Bohusz-Szyszko died in 1995, at the age of 94, spending his last days at St Christopher’s Hospice. Saunders died of cancer ten years later at age 87, also at St Christopher’s Hospice.
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A pioneer of the modern hospice movement, Dame Cicely Saunders felt that all should live with “a sense of fulfillment and a readiness to let go.”
Born 100 years ago today, Saunders performed many roles in her life, including nurse, doctor, author, and social worker. It was while caring for a terminally ill patient that she recognized certain challenges other medical professionals of her time did not: that his diagnosis required a fundamentally different kind of healthcare.
Through this experience, Saunders envisioned an environment that focused care on a patient’s individual and specific needs. As a result, she went on to found St. Christopher’s, the first modern hospice, in a suburb of London in 1967. There, core values included vigilant pain-management as well as a holistic and individualized understanding of practical, medical, and psychological patient needs.
Not only did Saunders’ work inspire hundreds of other hospices worldwide, but her books and teachings also established a new branch of medicine known as palliative care, which addresses the importance of holistic care among patients with life-limiting illnesses. She also went on to establish a global charity focusing on palliative care research and education, Cicely Saunders International , which still works to improve the lives of patients with progressive illness to this day.
Today’s Doodle, created by London-based guest artist Briony May Smith , was inspired by Saunders' favorite anthology, All In the End is Harvest (1984) which states, “Love and life is an eternal thing, like the growth and reaping of the harvest."
Special thanks to Christopher Saunders, brother of Dame Cicely Saunders and Life President of Cicely Saunders International, for his partnership on this project. Below, Christopher shares his thoughts on his sister:
Cicely came a long way from being a six-foot tall, shy, very intelligent girl who felt like a bit of an outsider, to being one of the very remarkable people who have positively impacted end-of-life care around the world. Yet there is still much work to be done. The need for palliative care has never been greater and is increasing rapidly given that people are living longer as a result of improvements in tackling acute disease. While each illness brings specific physical symptoms such as pain and fatigue, there are also more invisible ones such as helplessness and loneliness, which can too often become part of the final phase of life. Cicely’s medical research charity, Cicely Saunders International, enters the centenary year of her birth energised with the spirit of Cicely to meet these continuing challenges, and make a positive difference just as she did throughout her life.
Early sketches of the Doodle below
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Dame Cicely Saunders believed that everyone should live with “a sense of fulfillment and a readiness to let go.”
The pioneer of the modern hospice movement, who was born 100 years ago today, performed many roles in her life, including nurse, doctor, author, and social worker.
It was while caring for a terminally ill patient that she recognised certain challenges other medical professionals of her time did not: that his diagnosis required a fundamentally different kind of healthcare.
Through this experience, Saunders envisioned an environment that focused care on a patient’s individual and specific needs.
As a result, she went on to found St. Christopher’s, the first modern hospice, in a suburb of London in 1967.
(Image: PA)
(Image: Google)
There, core values included vigilant pain-management as well as a holistic and individualised understanding of practical, medical, and psychological patient needs.
Not only did Saunders’ work inspire hundreds of other hospices worldwide, but her books and teachings also established a new branch of medicine known as palliative care, which addresses the importance of holistic care among patients with life-limiting illnesses.
(Image: PA)
She also went on to establish a global charity focusing on palliative care research and education, Cicely Saunders International, which still works to improve the lives of patients with progressive illness to this day.
Today’s Doodle, by London-based artist Briony May Smith, was inspired by Saunders' favourite anthology, 'All In the End is Harvest' (1984) which states, “Love and life is an eternal thing, like the growth and reaping of the harvest."
