Palliative care has been a little understood aspect of our overall health care system even as it has become more recognized within that system as a valuable resource for patients and their families. Patients often have no education about how palliative care and hospice can serve them and ease the tremendous stresses of serious diagnosis. Thankfully, pioneers in the field have conducted an impassioned fight to educate, validate and increase access to this most essential care. Of all of these advocates, perhaps none has done more to increase the number of palliative care programs available than Diane Meier as Director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). Under her leadership these programs have more than tripled in ten years. What brought her to this work? What do we need to know about these services and when and how best to use them. How can we all support the effort to increase these programs where we live?