'Hospice took tension and stress away'

THIS WEEK marks Dying Matters Awareness Week, a campaign run by Hospice UK that encourages people to come together to break the stigma around death, dying, and grief.

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Dushyant Mehta's wife, Asha, died at St Ann’s Hospice in Heald Green in 2021. The two had been long-time supporters and volunteers for St Ann’s long before Asha initially sought treatment at the hospice.

Dushyant and Asha are Jains, an Indian religion teaching a path to spiritual purity and enlightenment through disciplined nonviolence (ahimsa, literally “non-injury”) to all living creatures.

Through their religious community, Dushyant and Asha raised £15,000, half going to St Ann’s and the other going to the National Kidney Foundation. It was their first fundraiser for St Ann’s Hospice.

Later, in 2011, Asha was diagnosed with breast cancer following a check-up when she was 50. She had nodules removed which led to water retention in her arms, causing discomfort.

She was cured of the cancer but the water retention remained, and she struggled to even lift her arms. She could not do the one thing that she loved most, which was cooking. A GP on request and suggestion informed her that St Ann’s Hospice may be able to manage her symptoms. They later had an appointment with the physiotherapist team at the hospice.

“Within two appointments, she was in a position to raise her hands and continue doing what she loved; cooking,” Dushyant said.