Her teenage daughter Rhiannon was assisted by South East Palliative Care for several months up until her peaceful death at home on May 20 last year.

Grateful for the service's help, Ms Landells organised a fund-raiser, Rhiannon's Rainbow Day, to coincide with the first anniversary of her daughter's death.

Last Monday, students at Rhiannon's former school, Cranbourne Secondary College, dressed in rainbow colours to raise more than $1000 for South East Palliative Care.

Ms Landells hopes to involve other schools in Melbourne's southeast for the event next year,

aiming to make Rainbow Day a national event spreading awareness about how palliative care can help terminally ill patients of all ages.

"It keeps Rhiannon's memory alive," Ms Landells says.

In 2005, Rhiannon was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer called Ewing's sarcoma. It was followed by two years of intensive radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

The palliative care service had given Rhiannon the "absolute privilege" of dying at home among pets, friends and family.

"Rhiannon hated the hospital when she was there. If not for palliative care, we wouldn't have been able to look after her with our other children and have the memories we have," Ms Landells says.

"It was beautiful to have her home with us."

As well as giving morphine pain relief, the service provided counselling for the family, aromatherapy and art and music therapy during Rhiannon's final four months of life.

The focus of palliative care is on quality of life, not death, says South East Palliative Care spokeswoman Rebecca Dollman.

At South East Palliative Care, about 50per cent of patients die at home rather than hospital.

But Ms Dollman says more funds and volunteers are needed to ensure more patients can be treated at home.

"[The numbers are low] because dying at home is so demanding on carers. The more funding we can get, the more support, such as counselling, we can give for carers."

To donate to South East Palliative Care, call 5991 1300