“I face this new stage with hope, trusting that the next generations will know how to innovate without giving up what is essential: respecting the foundational values of the identity of Palliative Care and maintaining scientific rigor combined with compassion. A discipline that does not evolve dies. But a discipline that disregards its foundational values becomes something else entirely, loses its essence, and ceases to have a reason to exist.” At the end of two decades of work leading the Palliative Care Unit at Hospital da Luz Lisboa, Isabel Galriça Neto publishes, on the website of the Portuguese Medical Association, a ‘reflection from the leadership of a Palliative Care Unit in Portugal’ , sharing a message of hope in the healthcare professionals of the future and serenity regarding the new stages of her professional life. The physician who created the first hospital-based palliative care unit — and the first and only one within a private hospital — reviews the activity of the Unit and recalls the story of how it all began and grew at Hospital da Luz Lisboa. “Over twenty years, more than 11,000 patients and their families were supported — which, on average, may lead us to think of more than 30,000 people cared for by our team. (…) Around 55% of patients had oncological disease, with the remaining suffering from advanced non‑oncological chronic conditions, particularly dementias and organ failure. The discharge rate ranged from 45% to 57%, highlighting hospital and community integration and the institutional bridges that were developed,” she writes in the newly published article. She adds: “The unit has been recognized as an Integrated Oncology and PC Center by ESMO since 2011 and took part in the Joint Commission International accreditation of our hospital in 2018. More than 100 professionals in pre‑ and postgraduate training were educated here, clinical protocols were implemented, and systematic discussions on care objectives were promoted.” The legacy of Isabel Galriça Neto remains forever. Her role in promoting palliative care in Portugal and her ongoing fight for everyone’s right and access to these services have been constant, making her an active and influential voice in medicine, politics, and civic life. Since it began operating in 2006, Hospital da Luz Lisboa has maintained a Palliative Care Unit working in full integration with the entire hospital. The full article can be read <a href="http:// " target="_blank">here .
