End of Life Planning and Services

Eir Centre offers a variety of supportive care to help you and your loved ones as you approach the end of life. We use a whole-person approach—physical comfort, emotional support, spiritual care—to complement community- and home-based palliative care services.

  • Living with advanced cancer takes a toll on both you and support network. Waiting for appointments and test results, pressured decisions around treatment, sudden loss of independence, and planning for the end of life…it wears on your body and emotions, and eats away at precious time with loved ones.

    With so much of the disease course being unpredictable, the first step you and your loved ones can take is to develop a plan in keeping with your heartfelt goals, values, and wishes.

    Advance Care Planning at Eir Centre entails one or more appointments with a staff doctor to discuss your plan, explore and review your wishes, and make internal and external referrals where appropriate.

    Advance Care Planning is an insured service under OHIP.

  • CALM (Cancer and Living Meaningfully) therapy helps patients cope with intense and existential emotions brought about by advanced cancer. The goal is personal well-being, and the best possible life with an incurable disease.

    Eir Centre offers CALM with the option of augmenting your therapy with psychedelic medicine.

    The benefits of CALM include:

    Reduced Psychological Distress: People undergoing CALM experience a significant decrease in symptoms of depression and anxiety. CALM can also help prevent the onset of major depression in patients who are not depressed at the start of their course of therapy.

    Alleviated Death Anxiety: CALM is effective at reducing fear and distress related to dying and death, helping you face mortality with a greater sense of peace.

    Improved Quality of Life: People undergoing CALM report an enhanced quality of life, leading to better physical, emotional, and social functioning.

    Enhanced Sense of Meaning and Purpose: CALM provides a supportive space to explore and re-evaluate values, life goals, and sources of meaning, helping you live more meaningfully despite your advanced disease.

    Better Symptom Management: CALM helps patients manage physical symptoms such as cancer-related fatigue and sleep disturbances, improving your ability to communicate effectively with healthcare providers, and giving you more meaningful time with loved ones.

    Strengthened Relationships: CALM can enable you to address changes in self-concept and personal relationships, resolving long-term tensions and fostering communication with family members and caregivers. Closed loved ones are invited to participate in some sessions of CALM therapy

    Improved End of Life Preparation: CALM can help prepare you for the end of life, giving you the emotional and psychological strength for practical planning such as wills, achieving a better sense of life closure.

    Fostering "Double Awareness": CALM helps you maintain a balance between engaging in life, and accepting the progression of your disease and its eventual end.

  • Watching your loved one go through a cancer diagnosis can be devastating, even more so when you are the one providing personal care as the disease progresses. Confusion, guilt, dread, exhaustion, burnout— the emotions are raw, overwhelming, and can cause real harm to your mental and physical health at a time when you need your strength the most.

    Eir Centre offers a variety of counseling and therapy services for caregivers, with our without other wellness services.

  • An End-of-Life Doula offers compassionate guidance and support through life’s final transition. By providing a comforting environment, practical help, and a calming presence, the doula helps patients and their loved ones navigate the end of life with dignity, peace, and meaning.

    The Doula will complement the care provided by medical and hospice/home care teams.

    Engaging an End-of-Life Doula begins with a consultation appointment at Eir Centre, followed by private arrangements for attendance at the home or other place where the death is expected to occur.

Contact Us to Learn More
Tree with thick, twisted branches and roots, sunlight shining through the foliage.

Your Care Team

Claudette Steele RN

End-of-Life Doula

  • I am a compassionate death doula based in London, Ontario, where I share my life with my husband and our four children. With 12 years of experience as an oncology nurse, I have developed a strong foundation of medical knowledge and a profound appreciation for compassionate, holistic care.

    Now, as a death doula, I dedicate myself to supporting individuals and their families during the end-of-life transition. I tailor my approach to honor each person's unique journey, providing emotional support, end-of-life planning, and companionship, with an emphasis on legacy work and using music to foster comfort and connection.

    My mission is to transform the dying process into a peaceful and meaningful experience, walking alongside my clients and their families with warmth, respect, and unwavering support.

Carol Nisbet MSW, RSW

CALM Therapy and Individual Psychotherapy

  • Our lives move along at an astounding rate that flows and ebbs with every new occurrence and interaction. A diagnosis of cancer, for yourself or a loved one, halts that flow and forces us to stop and tend to immediate needs that may often feel overwhelming and unbelievable. You may find yourself feeling scared, angry, sad, isolated and alone with little ability to focus on managing anything other than this tremendous change in your life. This can feel overwhelming and, at times, unmanageable. I’m here to support you, to listen to you, and to care about you during these challenging times.

    My goal is to support you, wherever you are in this journey, from a place of compassion and knowledge. Having cared for my own family member during their time with cancer, I have the unique knowledge and experience to help me support you.

    I have been providing support for individuals managing life altering conditions for most of my 40-year career. I became a Social Worker and Psychotherapist after my family member illness. During that time, I became aware that there are few supports that care for the whole person and family. I believe individuals need to be supported in all areas of their lives, physical, emotional, spiritual and social. This is the belief at the EIR Centre and it resonates with my personal and professional approach to caring.

    I have been a Social Worker and Psychotherapist since 2015. I have provided counselling and support in medical settings for the past 10 years. I believe it is a privilege to support others during challenging and vulnerable times. I would find it an honour to support or your loved one during this time. If you feel I might be able to help, please reach out to me at the EIR Centre.

    I use a variety of evidence-based modalities to support others, Narrative therapy, Mindfulness and Attachment based skills, Trauma Stabilization, as well as Person Centered, Positive Psychology, and Strengths based approaches.

Stephanie Tapp RN

End-of-Life Doula

  • Stephanie Tapp - Reiki Master Instructor in Usui Reiki | R.N. | End-of-Life Doula

    Every person deserves to be met with compassion, dignity, and genuine presence throughout every stage of life.

    Since 2015, I have worked as a Registered Nurse in a variety of cardiac specialties and now, oncology, supporting individuals and families through some of life's most vulnerable moments. I have cared for people living with acute and chronic health challenges, as well as terminal illnesses. This has shown me that while excellent medical care is essential, healing also often extends beyond the physical.

    Witnessing pain, suffering, resilience, love, and loss inspired me to deepen my understanding of how I could support people more fully. Through my own healing journey and years of caring for others, I came to appreciate that emotional, spiritual, and energetic well-being are deeply connected with physical health. Over the last decade have experienced non-ordinary states of consciousness to heal and improve overall health – with a life-changing impact. This came with a lot of inner work, guidance and time spent with complimentary therapies including reiki, osteopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, mindfulness-based therapy, massage therapy, breath work, meditation, and copious amounts of time spent reconnecting with nature. It has been the greatest gift I could have received in this lifetime. These experiences led me continue my own journey as both a Reiki Practitioner and End-of-Life Doula.

    My hope is one of integration and growth. I believe evidence-informed healthcare and traditional healing practices each offer meaningful strengths. Together, they can support the whole person. I believe that through some of our hardest moments, we can heal and grow. As you take on this part of your journey, healing could be about meeting fear, grief, trauma, illness, burnout, major changes, and everyday challenges with greater awareness, compassion, and intention. Maybe it is about being witnessed. Maybe it is about having someone hold space for you to create your transition.

    My role is not to tell people what their journey should look like, but to create a safe, supportive space where they feel truly seen and heard. Every individual carries a unique story, and I believe healing begins when we are given permission to honour that story without judgement.

    Whether you are seeking deeper personal healing, living with serious illness or trauma, supporting a loved one, experiencing pre-emptive grief, processing loss, or simply looking for a space in time to restore and relax, I strive to meet you exactly where you are.

    My hope is that everyone who choses me to walk alongside them feels safe, respected, and supported exactly as they are. It would be my honour to walk alongside you.

Frank Warsh MD, MPH, CCFP

Advanced Care Planning for End of Life

  • Franklin Warsh, MD, MPH, CCFP, is a Staff Physician and Clinical Site Manager at the Eir Centre. In this role, Dr. Warsh provides focused, compassionate care for patients with cancer and their loved ones while overseeing research operations to ensure the highest standards of quality, safety, and efficiency.

    Certified in Family Medicine, Dr. Warsh has practiced as a family physician in both Nova Scotia and Ontario, working in private practice and Community Health Centre settings. His clinical experience also includes advanced care planning and end-of-life care, helping patients and families navigate complex decisions with clarity, dignity, and compassion. He conducts assessments for Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID), supporting individuals as they consider their wishes, values, and options at the end of life.

    Dr. Warsh is also committed to improving access to medical care in underserved communities. He provides locum physician services in communities throughout Northwestern Ontario, bringing much-needed medical support to areas where access to consistent physician care can be limited.

    From 2009 to 2014, Dr. Warsh served as Acting Medical Officer of Health for a regional Public Health Unit. Since 2016, he has also served as an Investigating Coroner in London and across Southwestern Ontario.

    Across his varied roles in family medicine, public health, end-of-life care, rural and remote medicine, research, and death investigation, Dr. Warsh brings a broad perspective to patient care. His work reflects a commitment to thoughtful, evidence-informed medicine that respects each individual’s circumstances, priorities, and choices.