Through eight years of compassionate support from Camdeboo Hospice, Samantha’s story shows how palliative care can bring comfort, dignity and renewed strength to a difficult journey.
Graaff Reinet, South Africa (11 October 2026) – This week, we shared how palliative care does not particularly mean the end of life, as widely misconceived. Instead, it can bring pain and other symptoms under control, helping patients embrace life and use their energy where it matters most.
It’s an experience Samantha Graham-Maré understands all too well. In 2018, she was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time.
At the time of her diagnosis, she was a local municipal councillor and a single mother supporting a daughter at university. Without medical aid, she received cancer treatment at Livingstone Hospital, where she underwent a bilateral mastectomy and chemotherapy.
But, as Samantha can attest, care does not always end when a patient leaves hospital.
When she experienced complications with one of her wounds, she reached out to Camdeboo Hospice in Graaff Reinet for help. What began as wound care grew into something much more: ongoing physical and emotional support that has continued for eight years.
Today, Samantha still receives a monthly check-in from the hospice’s nursing sister. During a recent visit to Camdeboo Hospice, she shared in her own words what this support has meant to her.
“Hospice is about more than taking care of people when they die. Hospice is about palliative care, caring for people who are ill and who cannot get the kind of support that they need. Hospice is really an organisation that we should support. It brings a lot of relief from pain and emotional distress for the people that it cares for.”
Through all her challenges, having someone to check in, listen and offer compassionate care has made an enormous difference. And this is the heart of palliative care.
This World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, observed on 10 October, stories like Samantha’s help break down misconceptions about this vital part of healthcare. That it is not only about caring for someone at the end of life, but about supporting patients and their families throughout the journey of living with a life-threatening illness.
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