May 29-31th.
Volunteering at EAPC2025 in Helsinki brought me not only inspiration from deeply meaningful topics, but also the joy of an unexpected reunion after 20 years!
Do you remember those close friends from your early teenage years, with whom you were trying to figure out where you fit and where you belong in the world, while listening to “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (or whatever album defined your teenage years)
I’m so grateful that life brought one of these precious people from the past into my present, in the person of 
Lisa had always said she was going to become a doctor, and today she’s a brilliant palliative care physician and researcher at the University Hospital of Geneva (HUG). She was there to present several research studies.
How fascinating to see how our shared interest in end-of-life care has led us to cross paths again, here in my new home country, Finland, 2,000 km away from our hometown
In just two hours over lunch, we tried to fit in nearly 20 years of life, from deep personal challenges to lighter memories, like how we were both involved in our middle school journal
I’ve always held fond memories of her authenticity, sensitivity, and natural gentleness toward others. That is exactly how I found her again today
Together with other leading women in her field, Dr. Lisa Hentsch co-founded the first “WOMEN IN PALLIATIVE CARE SWITZERLAND” (WIPS) network, and she is deeply committed to mentoring and supporting younger female academics.
Her talk about the ArtPAL : bringing art into palliative care research project, which integrates visual art into palliative care settings to support patient well-being, was truly inspiring. It highlighted how meaningful it can be for patients in palliative care to have the opportunity to make choices and influence their environment, even simply by selecting the artworks in their room