PASYKAF Staff Group Photo
PASYKAF, The Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends was founded in 1986, by 21 people with cancer experience. The voice of our association was first heard through the words of Dr Anna Achilleoudi, founder and president of the board who stated in public: “I am a breast cancer survivor, cancer is curable if diagnosed and treated early. I am a living example.”
Throughout the years, PASYKAF has evolved into an organization of thousands of members and supporters, providing professional health and home care services to cancer patients and their loved ones, as well as awareness to the public.
PASYKAF established services based on European guidelines and standards which brought comfort, boosted hope whilst maintaining the patient’s dignity through the hardship of cancer. Our goal is to offer cancer patients and survivors a holistic management of the disease through specialized supportive and palliative care services, in order to improve quality of life.
Our associations’ services are offered free of charge to any patient regardless of nationality, religion and language. These include:
- Home nursing care
- Home Palliative care
- Psychological support
- Social support
- Physiotherapy
- Lymphoedema Clinic
- Patients Transport
- Bereavement support
In addition to them, in 2016, a gastrointestinal cancers group was created under the umbrella of PASYKAF, named ‘althea’. ‘Althea’ GI group has as its mission to reduce gastrointestinal cancers incidents, improve survival rates by focusing on early diagnosis and improve the quality of life for all patients with gastrointestinal cancers in Cyprus. ‘althea’s’ work includes organizing educational courses/conferences for health care professionals, awareness campaigns, promoting early detection, safeguarding patient’s rights for best available treatment, medication and consumables. ‘Althea’ is also working closely with the Ministry of Health for the National Colorectal Screening Program proper implementation whilst seeking to create a specialized Gastrointestinal Cancers Centre.
PASYKAF has been a member of World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition for the past 5 years and during this time we have shared best practices, grew through skills and capacity building workshops, played an active role in the formation of WPCC global awareness campaigns and participated in policy changes for pancreatic patients.
Last but not least, we have to express our gratitude as WPCC gave us the opportunity to apply for the ImpanctPanc award by Celgene in 2018. The project named ‘Empowering Caregivers of Pancreatic cancer patients for Enhanced Patient Outcomes’ has managed to be amongst five other winners and was awarded 20,000 US dollars. The idea is about introducing Expert Nutritional Guidance to pancreatic cancer patients and caregivers, in order to consult and provide practical guidance regarding nutritional problems, redress symptoms and address caregivers’ and patients’ needs.
We know that this was just the beginning and we are looking forward to accomplishing even more for pancreatic patients with the World Pancreatic Cancer Coalition support.
For more information about Cyprus Association of Cancer Patients and Friends you can visit: https://pasykaf.org/en/home-page/
