The Comparison Project

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On September 9, 2015, 23 cancer survivors and caregivers travelled to Kathmandu, Nepal for a week-long medical mission trip as part of the Above + Beyond Cancer Foundation. While at Baktapur Cancer Hospital, they donated medical supplies, built a garden for patients, and shared stories of cancer journeys and surviorship with patients and doctors. During this lecture, Dr. Richard Deming and Jake DeHaai will talk about their experiences on the trip.

Dr. Richard Deming is medical director of Mercy Cancer Center in Des Moines. He is the founder and chairman of the Above + Beyond Cancer Foundation and the Dr. Richard Deming Foundation.

Jake DeHaai is from West Des Moines, Iowa and is a senior at Iowa State studying Political Science, International Relations, and Economics. He was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer at the age of 10.

To listen to the audio:

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The Jain tradition has observed a practice known as Sallekhana or Santhara, through which one willingly foregoes food and hydration toward the end of one’s life in order to pass peacefully into a new life. Chapple will give details about the process and the history of Sallekhana.  He will also explore the correlations of this fast unto death with the hospice and “right to die” movements in contemporary America.

Chapple is a specialist in the religions of India; he has published twenty books on aspects of Yoga, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, as well as religion and ecology.  He serves on the advisory boards of the Ahimsa Center, the Forum on Religion and Ecology, and the International School for Jain Studies.