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Description
The project aims to empower women with breast cancer through the support of their care-givers. Taking care of women with breast cancer is a highly demanding task, which enforces womens'' 24-hour monitoring, involving their family members as care-givers, who are being asked to offer nursing services as well as psychological support. As a consequence, care-givers have to deal with their physical, emotional, psychological and financial burden. This condition, combined with the lack of medical consultation to the care-givers makes their education on integrated patients’ care and support at a psychosocial level a necessity in order to respond effectively to their crucial role.
Taking into consideration the need for care-givers’ alleviation and the empowerment of women with cancer as well as the big number of women with cancer from the Region of Western Greece and Ionian Islands who receive cure services at the oncological clinics of Patras’ hospitals (General University Hospital of Patras “All Holy Theotokos” and General Hospital of Patras “Saint Andrews”) the project takes place in municipalities of Western Greece Region. The project activities focus on educational activities for care-givers in offering nursing care and psychological support, through a three month seminar and the creation of open groups for care-givers psychosocial support. Additionally, raise awareness and educational activities about breast cancer will be carried out in municipalities of Western Greece Region, addressing participants from distant areas. The project promoter works with experienced oncology doctors and nurses, social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, nutritionists and lawyers in order to benefit 80 care-givers by the end of the project implementation.
Summary of project results
The care needs of women with cancer require 24-hour monitoring, involving family members as caregivers, who are required to provide nursing care services and psychological support, resulting in their own physical, emotional, psychological and financial burden. This condition, combined with the lack of counseling for caregivers, made it necessary to train them for the integrated care of patients and to support them at a psychosocial level, so that they can cope effectively with their critical role.
Considering the need for relief and empowerment of caregivers, as well as the large number of women with cancer in the Region of Western Greece and the Region of the Ionian Islands who are served by the oncology clinics of the hospitals of Achaia, the Project had as its object the development of new improved methods for the comprehensive treatment of the needs of women with cancer and their caregivers.
At total, 4 cycles of educational and psychosocial seminars for informal caregivers of patients (mainly women) who were diagnosed with any type of cancer took place. More precisely, 40 seminar sessions were presented and 80 caregivers of cancer patients among Greece were educated.
Following the closure of the first cycle of seminars (June 2020), one group for psychosocial support of caregivers was created. The group was an open group meaning that participants were free to express their interest and to become members.
At total 41 group meetings were held, which were led by the psychologist and the social worker of the Association.
The Conference of Psychosocial Support in Oncology took place on 7&8 of October 2021 in the context of the actions for the Capacity Building of the Project « Allies for care : Support for the women suffering from breast cancer through comprehensive education and psychosocial support of their caregivers».
The primary goal of the Conference was to give prominence to the psychosocial dimension of cancer in each stage of the disease.
Furthermore we contributed to:
1. Τhe education of the employees in the area of psychosocial oncology.
2. Τhe involvement and the capitalization of every cancer related sector (scientific enterprises, oncology sectors, patient’s organizations, social and psychological services etc)
3. Τhe designation of the importance of psychosocial oncology as a primary pillar in dealing with cancer both for the patients and their caregivers
4. Τhe formation of a network of oncology society for the psychosocial oncology.
The lecturers elaborated on the following themes:
Diagnosis and dealing, Life after cancer, Survivorship, Family and Caregivers, Social and economic impacts, Patients’ advocacy, Palliative care, Death and grief
More than 8.000 people attended the Conference through livestreaming from the Association’s Facebook page.
In total 80 caregivers of cancer patients were trained through 4 educational cycles and 10 weekly individual meetings .
The participation of the beneficiaries in the open psychosocial support group contributed to the emotional discharge of the caregivers and to the experiential learning of techniques for managing negative emotions and situations. Also, through sharing with each other, they were given the opportunity to come into contact and interact with people with common experiences, which is a structural element in therapeutic groups.