Dame Cicely Saunders Saunders, Dame Cicely (Cicely Mary Strode
Saunders), 1918–2005, British physician, a pioneer in the modern
hospice movement. She left Oxford during World War II to become
a nurse (1944) and, after working as a medical social worker
with cancer patients, a doctor (1957). As a physician she worked
to improve the care of terminally ill patients and wrote Care of
the Dying (1960), the first of several books. In 1967 she opened
St. Christopher's Hospice, London, the first modern hospice,
which became a model for hospice care internationally and a
training facility for hospice workers. She served as its medical
director until 1985. A Dame Commander of the British Empire from
1980, she was awarded Britain's Order of Merit in 1989. When she
died, more than 8,000 hospices had been established throughout
the world. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed.
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