On 24^th November, Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice will be hosting a live, online performance of Homeward Bound – a play based on the true story of Seth and Lesley Goodburn and the 33 short and heart-breaking days from Seth's diagnosis with pancreatic cancer to his death.

Airing live, via Zoom at 3.00pm, the play is being brought to life by drama students from Inverness College University of the Highland and Islands.  As well as helping to raise vital awareness about the signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, the play highlights the human impact of receiving a late diagnosis of this type can have.  After the performance, Lesley Goodburn will be available to discuss and answer audience questions. 

Seth's story is a personal experience that explores love, compassion, relationships and empathy. Originally written as a play in 2016 and developed by the National Council for Palliative Care and Pancreatic Cancer UK to help improve end of life care, it has since been filmed and widely shared as a valuable educational resource for health care professionals as part of training and service improvement programmes.

Speaking ahead of the live performance, Clinical Education Lead at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, Camilla Barrow, said:  “We’re extremely proud to be working with Lesley Goodburn in support of this year’s Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.  As a teaching hospice, we’re committed to the delivery of Palliative and End of Life Care education across Birmingham and beyond and we are always looking for new ways to engage with people.  With more talk of dying and death than ever before in the media, there is a growing need to support healthcare providers to ensure they can best help their patients at this difficult and challenging time. 

“Homeward Bound is a powerful portrayal of the importance of empathetic, cohesive care and support from diagnosis of a life-limiting condition to the very end of someone’s life and we warmly invite anyone working in a health and social care setting, as well as patients and carers, to join us on 24^th November.”

Lesley Goodburn adds: “I promised Seth that I would share the story of our journey of his terminal diagnosis so that it might help others in the future.  Working with organisations like St Mary’s is part of Seth’s legacy and the opportunity to still be able to tell our story and connect with people – even while face to face performances aren’t possible because of Covid-19 - is fantastic.  As well helping to raise awareness of pancreatic cancer, it opens up the debate about compassionate, person-centred care when approaching end of life.”

To register your interest in the Homeward Bound live performance, please visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/homeward-bound-drama-performance-tickets-124990071669

To find out more about Birmingham St Mary’s wider curriculum of palliative and end of care education, please visit www.birminghamhospice.org.uk/courses/

Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice is a local charity which cares for individuals who are living with life-limiting illness.  As well as providing vital care in people’s homes, in the community and at the Hospice, it supports families and carers cope with the bereavement after someone they love has died.