

Doctor Zhou Xuan created “Angel’s Wings Children” and “Daisy’s Home”, Beijing’s first children hospice and activity center. She is the head of oncology and hematology at Beijing Children’s hospital, and because of this, she had witnessed the struggles many young cancer patients go through. In 2013, she conducted a research study in the US, where she saw many examples of palliative care facilities and discovered a field solely for palliative care tailored to children. She was inspired and proposed this idea back home in China. After her return to Beijing, she trained some staff and volunteers in her hospital to provide palliative-like care for cancer patients, educating them on both the proper medication and psychological consultation. Then, two years later, in 2015, she created Beijing’s first children’s palliative care activity center through a partnership with New Sunshine Charity Foundation. With this center, terminally ill children could gather and play together while their parents were taught information on palliative care. All the equipment and electronics in the center are donated, and volunteers are present at the center year-round, so that sick children and parents have a safe place they can go to, away from the hospital.
Death can be a taboo subject in China, so centers like these are not as popular. Zhou believes that “only when we stop thinking that death is scary or terrifying and we have the right perspective on death can we truly accept palliative care”. She wants others to see the light palliative care can bring as it can be a dark time for parents of terminally ill children.
We want to thank Doctor Zhou Xuan for her incredible efforts and support her as she furthers her journey.