Module - OHBOV12

Dr Mark Taubert discusses the language we use when discussing terminal illness. He gives us (often very funny) examples of the language that his patients have used, and reads to us from his famous open letter to David Bowie.

Dr Mark Taubert discusses the language we use when discussing palliative and terminal illness. He gives us (often very funny) examples of the language that his patients have used.

Mark is a consultant physician and clinical director for palliative care at a Welsh NHS cancer centre. In 2016, he wrote a letter entitled "A thank you letter to David Bowie from a palliative care doctor", which went viral and was shared across the world.

Apart from his clinical work and teaching, he works for a Welsh charity called Byw Nawr (Live Now!), where the aim is to get people to have a realistic and open approach toward the topic of dying and death. He writes and has published in the Guardian and the Big Issue. He has been a speaker at Hay Literary Festival and the Edinburgh Fringe. He co-created the http://talkcpr.wales website patient, carer and healthcare professional resource.

Many of his patients and their loved ones tell him that once they have broached the topic of dying, they feel a great sense of relief and that a significant burden is lifted off them. He hopes to share some of their wonderful insights in this talk.

@DrMarkTaubert


This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx