Palliative Matters podcast
Join Board Certified Palliative & Hospice Care physicians, Dr. John Mulder, Executive Director of Trillium Institute, and Dr. Jason Beckrow, Trillium Institute faculty, as they dive into the world of palliative care. Using real-life examples, they create an open dialogue to address the issues of those facing a life-limiting illness and provide resources, tips, and tools for patients, their loved ones, and medical professionals to provide a higher quality end-of-life experience.
Dr. John Mulder
Dr. Jason Beckrow

LATEST EPISODES:
S3 / EP: 09 Septembert 12, 2024
Recognizing the Uniqueness of Each Patient’s Illness Journey

As physicians, we let our experiences and knowledge guide us. Often, this leads to us entering a patient’s room with some assumptions in hand. However, it’s important to remember that people with the same diagnosis can have completely different emotional reactions, and it’s our job to meet them where they are. In this episode, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow discuss overcoming unconscious bias in palliative medicine by taking the time to understand the patient’s perspective and learning about their unique journey.

S3 / EP: 08 August 3, 2024
Finding Peace at the End of Life: A Potential Role for Psychedelic Medication

Psilocybin has had a place in healing for millennia, particularly among ancient civilizations and cultures. While it’s had a negative view in some corners of contemporary American society, research into its potential has gained traction and it is slowly finding a place in the mainstream. In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow are joined by Prof. Michael DeWilde, who shares his knowledge of the history, uses, and benefits of psilocybin. This has prompted Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow to ask, “Is there a place for psilocybin in palliative medicine and end-of-life care?”

S3 / EP: 07 July 3, 2024
Why Doctors Die Differently
What do they know that others don’t.

Studies have shown that doctors are less likely to have surgery or be admitted to the ICU in the last six months of their life and are less likely to die in the hospital. So, what do doctors know that their patients don’t? In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow discuss some of the systematic failures of our healthcare system and the importance of informed consent. They ask and answer, “How can physicians advise patients based on their unique wants and wishes to give them a higher-quality end-of-life experience?”

S3 / EP: 06 June 3, 2024
The Gift of Time

Prognostication is not an exact science. So, when patients ask the inevitable question, “How much time do I have, doc?” How can we answer? In this episode, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow reflect on the challenge of prognostication and how they leverage their years of experience to try and provide patients with the gift of time.

S3 / EP: 05 May 8, 2024
Stories from the Bedside: The Impact of “Dying to Tell You” Podcast

In this episode, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow are joined by palliative care chaplain Cody Hufstedler. Cody has a podcast of his own, Dying to Tell You, where he interviews people nearing the end of life. With the doctors, he shares some of the joys, sorrows, and beauty he has uncovered while helping terminally ill patients and their loved ones work through some challenging realities. Listen to the episode, and be sure to check out Dying to Tell You at dttypodcast.com

S3 / EP: 04 April 10, 2024
Managing Uncertainty in End-of-Life Care

For each diagnosis, there is an expected path that the disease will take. But along that path are many offshoots of possibilities, known and unknown. Amid the uncertainty, how can providers manage expectations and continue to build trust with their patients? In this episode, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow discuss how they operate in the realm of uncertainty when patients and their loved ones are often looking for finite answers.

S3 / EP: 03 March 12, 2024
What Disease Takes Away
The Dimensions of Life Changes in the Midst of Serious Illness

When someone is given a life-altering diagnosis, change is inevitable. Disease can take away so much from a person: their identity, their power, their abilities. In this episode, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow discuss how they help patients regain some of their power and agency, with Dr. Mulder touching on his own experiences from when he was diagnosed with a terminal illness and the effect the journey had on him. 

S3 / EP: 02 February 12, 2024
“What Would You Do, Doc?”
Pt. 2 – Moving at the Speed of Trust: Strategies for Establishing Trusting Relationships

Most doctors understand that establishing trust is an important part of caring for their patients. But how does one go about doing so? In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow discuss how they work towards earning the trust of their patients, starting with making sure they feel seen and heard. Listen to learn more about how the doctors form symbiotic relationships with those in their care. 

S3 / EP: 01 January 8, 2024
“What Would You Do, Doc?”
Pt. 1: Building Trust Between Physicians and Patients

Helping patients and their loved ones make decisions is one of the greatest challenges of being a physician. But it’s also one of the greatest responsibilities. To kick off Season 3, Dr. John Mulder and Dr. Jason Beckrow discuss how they build trust with their patients through collaborative communication, education, and empowerment—centered on an understanding of their patient’s values and belief systems.

S2 / EP: 09 December 11, 2023
When Music Heals

How can music address the psychological, physiological, and sociological issues associated with life-limiting illnesses and the end-of-life? In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow are joined by renowned musical therapist Dr. Deforia Lane. She talks about the role that music can play in meeting the unique needs of each patient as it activates different parts of the brain to address mood, pain, and even communication.

S2 / EP: 08 October 31, 2023
The Role of Palliative Care in Progressive Neurologic Disease

In this special episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow are joined by Dan and Lisl Keuning, who share their personal experience with Dan’s frontal temporal dementia diagnosis. They discuss how the life-limiting illness has impacted their lives and how, after finding the right palliative care practitioner to work with, the Keuning family’s care and outlook have changed.

S2 / EP: 07 September 20, 2023
The Impact of Interdisciplinary Care

When people hear the word hospice, it often brings about fear and anxiety. But when the interdisciplinary services and benefits hospice provides are explained, the reaction is usually much different. In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow discuss the importance of patients understanding what their diagnosis means and learning about strategies and resources that they can engage with to help manage their illness.

S2 / EP: 06 August 15, 2023
Discussing Death & Dying

As a society, we have a tendency to avoid talking about death and dying. But as palliative and hospice care providers, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow are exposed regularly to the end-of-life journey. In this episode, they discuss how, as doctors, they help patients come to terms and make peace with their medical circumstances. They also help listeners better understand the dying process and the physical, emotional, and spiritual components they often witness.

S2 / EP: 05 July 13, 2023
Being Present: Serving Those Who Grieve

When someone enters palliative or hospice care, a whole new set of tools and resources become available, including bereavement care for their loved ones. In this episode, the doctors discuss how we all have a duty to be present for those who are grieving and how bereavement services help people move toward healing in their own way.

S2 / EP: 04 June 21, 2023
Unexpected Blessings of Palliative Medicine

While palliative care can have a profound impact on patients, it can also be transformational for their family, friends, or others who they are close with. In this episode, the doctors discuss the unexpected blessings that come along with treating patients with the resources that palliative care provides—including the healing, closure, and meaningful connections that they have witnessed.

S2 / EP: 03 April 12, 2023
Autonomy & Advance Care Planning

Advance care planning involves discussing and preparing for future decisions about medical care, and, as the doctors explain, it is all about patient autonomy. What does a patient value? How do they define their quality of life? Where do they draw the line? In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow dive into the importance of having these conversations with your loved ones as early as possible, acknowledging that wants and wishes can change over time based on a patient’s circumstance, age, and illness. 

S2 / EP: 02 March 24, 2023
Healing vs. Curing

Can someone experience healing while not being cured of their disease? In this next episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow discuss the differences between being healed and being cured. In their experience, while someone may not be cured of their disease, they can experience healing in a variety of ways. They talk about cases that have taught them that they can’t always “fix” things and that managing and treating in meaningful ways doesn’t necessarily end with a cure.

S2 / EP: 01 February 6, 2023
Witnessing the Power of Hospice

A terminal prognosis forces people to face their mortality, which can lead to some
pretty incredible events—core memories being made, long-broken relationships being repaired, final wishes being fulfilled. In this episode, the doctors share stories from their careers that demonstrate some of the life-changing things people can experience under hospice care. Listen to witness yourself the healing power—emotionally, spiritually, or physically—that hospice can have.

S1 / EP: 06 October 10, 2022
The Purpose of Palliative Care

With palliative care being a relatively new field of medicine, there are still many misconceptions about what this specialty provides. While it is often associated with end-of-life, it has become much more expansive. In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow discuss the purpose of palliative care and how treatment plans focus on a patient’s goals ultimately empowering them to make choices based on what is important and sacred to them.

S1 / EP: 05 September 8, 2022
Lessons Our Patients Have Taught Us

What do we learn from our patients that make us better people and better doctors? In this episode, the doctors discuss patient circumstances and what these experiences have taught them. From learning to look for the gifts and miracles in even the direst of situations to making human connections to meet patients where they are, the doctors share real-life experiences that have helped shape who they are as doctors and as people.

S1 / EP: 04 July 26, 2022
Defining Hope

The idea of hope is often idealistic and romanticized. For those facing a life-limiting illness, the “hope” of being cured or life returning to the way it was before a diagnosis can be discouraging. In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow explain how they can help people redefine hope by setting clear expectations and realistic goals for patients and their families. 

S1 / EP: 03 June 16, 2022
The Concept of Suffering

When most people think of suffering, they think of it in terms of physical pain, but suffering is a much more dynamic concept. When someone is facing a life-limiting illness, the fear of inability surrounding their situation can be agonizing. Existential crises in the form of financial stress, professional struggles, or familial relationships are common. In this episode, Dr. Mulder and Dr. Beckrow walk listeners through the concept of suffering and how they work to reinforce in a patient their value and worth.

S1 / EP: 02 MAY, 2022.
The Burden of Choices

When faced with a life-limiting illness, patients and their loved ones can feel pressure to make the “right” choice or take the “right” step when, oftentimes, there isn’t one. In the next episode of Palliative Matters, the doctors use a real-life example to talk in detail about decision-making throughout the end-of-life journey and how the presence and involvement of a palliative care team helped ease the family of some of those burdens.

S1 / EP: 01 MAY, 2022
Exploring Values & Goals

When a patient is faced with a life-limiting illness, both they and their support network are burdened with a number of stresses. They are forced to make many difficult decisions in circumstances with no perfect outcome. In this episode, the doctors address the importance of asking the patient what their goals and values are. What do they want to accomplish between now and the end of their life? Listen and learn how to better give the patient a voice and a choice as they face their illness.

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ADDITIONAL PODCASTS & GUEST INTERVIEWS:

Dan’s Palliative Care Story

Dr. John Mulder contributes to Dan’s story on YouTube.


Just Breathe Collective Podcast:  Deep Breath with John Mulder, MD: what is sacred to you in the face of life?

On March 26,2023 Michael Knox talks with Dr. John Mulder about what it means to live and how we can bring this to all people regardless of what stage of life they are in.


This Day & Age Podcast Ep 03: Quality of Life at the End of Life

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Michael Dozeman, a hospice and palliative care physician at Faith Hospice, to discuss the philosophy of these areas of care and to dispel some common misconceptions.


Hospice Explained Podcast: Interview with Dr. John Mulder–Pioneering Member of Palliative Care Specialty Part 1

This episode is part 1 of 2. On this episode Dr. Mulder explains differences in palliative and hospice, how technology can impact healthcare and the stigma of other Doctors referring to hospice or palliative care for their patients.


Hospice Explained Podcast: Interview with Dr. John Mulder–Pioneering Member of Palliative Care Specialty Part 2

This episode is part 2 of 2. This episode discusses the term Call Dr. Kevorkian, Death with Dignity, Physician assisted suicide and Physician aid in Dying. 



EOLUPODCAST: Ep. 325 Palliative Care–What’s Needed Now and in the Future with John Mulder MD

Learn how palliative care can meet the healthcare needs of the future.



Physician’s Guide to Doctoring: Why is Palliative Care Underutilized? with Dr. John Mulder

We talk about how he got started in palliative care, well before it was a recognized subspecialty, how the specialty has changed, and he helps to clear up some confusion about who should be referred to palliative care. We also discussed how more palliative care referrals can improve outcomes and decrease the cost of care and what systemic changes can help.


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