The shortcomings of the Greek healthcare system are not limited to the lack of doctors and the catastrophic state of the country's hospital infrastructure. Patients with cancer, for example, also have to deal with the lack of psychologists and social workers. Professions that are more than essential to ensure the smoothest possible experience of the disease. Those who can afford it seek psychological support from private professionals. For others, this gap has been filled by "KEFI", the Volunteers Friends of Cancer Doctors association, in Athens.
This association, which has been providing emotional, psychological, and social support to cancer patients and their families since 2004, is the vision of Zoi Grammatoglou, a breast cancer survivor who lost her best friend to the same disease. "Because in cancer, good mental health represents 50% of the treatment, we do our best to ensure that the patients who come to us for help receive the support they need," she says.
The organization offers individual and group sessions with psychologists, as well as online sessions for those who do not reside in Athens. Daily, volunteers from the organization visit cancer patients in a large hospital in Athens, where they receive their chemotherapy, to be by their side and support them during this difficult time. At the same time, a bereavement group is held to support those who have lost a loved one to cancer and are feeling depressed. The organization provides them with free psychological support for as long as they need.
For provincial patients needing to travel to Athens for treatments, an apartment is provided free of charge, for as long as needed. Priority is given to economically more vulnerable individuals who cannot afford hotel expenses.
One innovation of our association is the program "Together and at Home," which concerns cancer patients, either undergoing treatment and unable to travel, or in the terminal phase. In these cases, a psychologist and a social worker visit them weekly, wherever they are. No other association in Greece offers this. This is an initiative that we launched in 2018 with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation," notes Mrs. Grammatoglou.
"I felt like I was coming out of the grave"
As soon as Elisavet Psilopoulou learned she had cancer, she immediately called the association and asked for psychological support. After the surgery, she started individual sessions with a psychologist for three months and then joined the group of patients. "It was as if I had come out of the grave, I saw everything in black, I felt close to the end. I was shocked, I cried a lot. Psychology plays a crucial role in cancer, and I discovered it in practice. The psychologists and social workers from the Association helped me get back on my feet," she says. Once the treatments were over, and after a period of recovery where she regained her energy, Elisavet Psilopoulou wanted to give back what the association had given her. "I became a volunteer and started visiting oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy. Every time I left the hospital, I didn't feel devastated, but grateful for offering my help to someone who really needed it. I had been in their shoes, and I know how difficult it is. I could understand the terror in the patients' eyes."
Lone patients
What has shaken Zoi Grammatoglou over the past twenty years, which she has dedicated to volunteering, is the loneliness of many cancer patients. As she points out, these are mainly elderly patients who have no one in their lives, or whose loved ones have abandoned them for various reasons. "Since the establishment of the association, I have been trying to be as close as possible to these individuals. I was fortunate because when I fell ill, I had my husband and children by my side. However, this is not the case for everyone; there is a lot of loneliness out there." For this specific group of patients, there are volunteers who commit to carrying out their daily tasks (such as shopping, paying bills, or picking up their medications from the pharmacy), spending a few hours with them each day, and accompanying them to the hospital for their treatment.
A great public response
Every year, people of all ages commit themselves, and after a six-month training, they start the important work of volunteering. "It is encouraging to see so many people willing to help. Before founding the association, I was a volunteer at the anticancer hospital Agios Savvas. And what I can sincerely tell you is that the volunteer gives a lot, but what he receives is much more in return.
Standing by a person going through such a trial is invaluable. The training for new volunteers will start on October 15 and will last until May. The goal is to deeply understand the needs and psychology of a cancer patient so that the assistance provided is effective.
There is no longer any taboo around cancer
As the years go by, more and more patients are knocking on the door of the association for help. According to its founder, this is due to the fact that there is no longer a taboo around cancer. "Our association as well as others have fought for the destigmatization of patients. In the past, there was a general discomfort around the word cancer, now we call it by its name. It is a disease that can affect anyone. The new medications are very effective and science is constantly making progress. Now, cancer no longer means death."
Cover Photo: @Pixabay