Yesterday I attended a memorial service for everyone who has died in our palliative care and cancer care units over the past year.

One of the staff physicians gave a speech and talked about how patients ask her how she goes to work every day and deals with death and dying over and over. She said something that resonates greatly with me - the greatest burden we carry is yesterday. Very apt for a time in my life when I have many regrets on a daily basis and fears about performing badly and disappointing my patients.

We all carry a bit of the sorrows of the past with us and the memorial service is an opportunity for us also to cleanse our souls clean and move on. It reminds us that people's lives go on after their loved one dies and they leave our doors and ours will too.