The Healing Cycle Foundation

Founded in 2005, the Healing Cycle Foundation ("THCF") is a volunteer-based, registered charity that wishes to honour the end-of-life journey taken by those living with a life-threatening illness. We do this by raising and stewarding funds in support of hospice palliative care programs that compassionately uphold the dignity of individuals at the end of their life and their loved ones.

With the belief that dying is a part of living, our aim is to support individuals and their families through a difficult life passage in the hope that the experience will be manageable and meaningful. We value the quality of end-of-life care and believe that individuals and their families should receive physical, emotional, psychosocial, and spiritual support during the hospice palliative care journey.

THCF is in the unique position of being one of the very few charitable groups raising funds for hospice palliative care for both adults and children in Canada.

The Foundation is concerned about the quality of life of terminally-ill patients and believes that families of patients should be supported throughout the palliative care process.

While there are different definitions of palliative care, the following one is a personal reflection of Dr. Fred Besik, a family physician with a palliative specialty at the Credit Valley Hospital:

“Palliative Care is a discipline that provides the path that leads to healing for the person that is afflicted with an incurable illness. It nurtures the soul as it prepares for its journey to the Creator and it validates the life that has come to an end, celebrating its beauty and uniqueness. For the caregiver professional, it gives the opportunity for self-growth and a greater understanding and appreciation of one’s own connection to the uniqueness of being. It allows one’s own spirituality to blossom through introspection and self-awareness. It connects us all to the collective knowledge of being human"