Notes from a clandestine tryst and scientific event.

[rivka]

So, um, I'm in Banff. With therealjae and my boss, Lydia. I think I forgot to tell you guys that I was going, but what's a little discontinuity of information between friends?

I'm here to attend the 6th World Congress on Psycho-Oncology, which is actually a lot more interesting than it sounds. Delegates from all over the world and from all constituencies interested in the psychological aspects of cancer - psychologists, epidemiologists, palliative care specialists, nurses, educators, prevention specialists, Canadian MPs, Ted Kennedy Jr. - have converged on this tiny mountain village for three days of meetings.

So far, it's been fascinating. The best presentation I've seen so far was a 90-minute symposium on psychotherapy with dying people - as in, not just people who are terminally ill, but people who are in hospice and may have a month or two to live - providing "death with dignity" not by prescribing lethal medications but by helping people find meaning in their last days. I've also seen great presentations on research methodology, including one that almost erupted into a brawl, and I've met a number of eminent researchers who have been very friendly and open to conversation. It's a great conference. I wish it weren't implausible to think that I could also attend the next one, which is in Copenhagen.

therealjae and I are having a great time in the post-conference hours. We had a four-course fondue dinner the other night that was not to be believed: cheese fondue with bread, bagna cauda, which is a oil-garlic-and-anchovy-paste concoction in which we cooked vegetables, meat cooked on a 600-degree rock (I had the "hunter fondue," which was venison, wild boar, and I think carabou), and chocolate fondue for dessert. Mmmm. Tonight, if weather and travel plans cooperate, we're going to a noteworthy Swiss restaurant called Ticino's. Also in there with the food, we're having great long hours of conversation, and watching her West Wing Season Two DVDs.

The weather, and travel plans. Right now it's snowing. Tomorrow at 10:15am, we're supposed to catch a plane in Calgary, which is an hour and a half to two hours away, over mountain roads, in the snow. The guy at the Tourist Centre recommended that we consider leaving today and staying overnight in Calgary, because it's not quite freezing now and so the roads aren't as icy as they will be tomorrow. But Lydia doesn't want to leave today. Instead it looks like we'll be leaving godawful early, and hoping that we don't miss our flight or die a horrible death in a canyon somewhere. Really, it's the only thing marring a perfectly lovely trip.

I'm so glad I've had the opportunity to attend this conference, and to spend so much one-on-one time with therealjae. It's been marvelous. I feel utterly rejuvenated. Too bad it has to end so soon.

Comments

[rivka.livejournal.com]

just to verify; this doesn't mean withholding painkillers, it just means not overprescribing them, yes?

It means not using "dignity" as a euphemism for "assisted suicide." Adequate pain control is critically important in end-of-life care, of course.