After signing a cooperation agreement, the Spanish Association Against Cancer of Almeria will provide psychological care for cancer patients and their families at Hospital Vithas Almeria.
Magdalena Cantero (president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer Almeria), Dr. Pilar Espejo (managing director of Vithas Almeria) and Dr. Pedro Sanchez Rovira (head of oncology at the hospital), attended the signing of the membership program. Magdalena Cantero said that cancer does not leave only physical scars but also psychological scars.
“For this reason we offer support, accompaniment, and psychological care to patients and their families from the beginning. It is our mission. We at the AECC want to express our gratitude for the dedication of Hospital Vithas almeria and the outstanding work of its staff. Because cancer affects everyone, we want to work together.
Dr. Pilar Espejo (Managing Director of Vithas Almeria) expressed her delight at the joint activity with AECC. She stated that she was proud to support this program and be able “to offer cancer patients the best possible care with a multidisciplinary team.” She concluded that it also has significant potential for innovation in the areas of early diagnosis and prevention.
Dr. Sanchez Rovira, for his part, confirms that it is crucial for cancer patients to have access to psychological support during diagnosis and treatment. He promises he is able to cope better, and that communication with all professionals involved in the treatment is improved. It has a positive impact on the overall process.
This agreement governs the “Support and Accompaniment Program”, whose purpose it is to facilitate the immediate access to information from existing resources in order for psychological, social and/or specific care for newly diagnosed patients with cancer. They will also be able to assist their family members. Once they are diagnosed, they will be able to quickly identify the needs of the patient or family member. After diagnosis, patients and their families will be evaluated for the level of discomfort. They will then advocate for the best services and those that meet the needs of the patient.
Vithas Almeria established the Oncology Unit in May last year under the direction of Renato Salguero Alguilar and Pedro Sanchez Rovira. This unit focuses on antineoplastic treatment, which is the prevention of malignant tumor cells from growing, developing, or proliferating in patients with cancer.
This newly opened unit offers a variety of services, including molecular biology and genetic diagnosis, bioinformatics. It also provides medical oncology, pathological analysis, laboratory, pharmacy, radiodiagnosis, and other surgical specialties.
According to data from the AECC’s Cancer Observatory, there have been 3,690 cases of cancer in Almeria in 2021. 2,178 of these were men, and 1,512 were women.
Since 1968, the Spanish Association Against Cancer has been the leading entity in fighting cancer. It focuses its efforts on exposing the truth about cancer in Spain and identifying areas that can be improved. Then, it launches a social transformation process that corrects them in order to achieve a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to fighting cancer. It is today the social and private entity with the highest cancer research funding: 79 million euros in 400 projects. More than 1000 researchers are involved.
The Association brings together patients, their families, volunteers, and professionals to work together in order to prevent, raise awareness, support affected people, and fund research that will improve diagnosis and treatment.
