Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer (AECC)

The Spanish Cancer League (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer or AECC) was founded in 1953 in an era when few cancer patients survived their illness. There was a great demand for the new treatments such as radiotherapy and during many years the AECC dedicated its funds entirely to the purchase of such equipment. Here, in Granada, the AECC donated a treatment centre to the Hospital Clínico. However, the AECC never really got underway in Granada until 1994, a time when oncological treatments were amply covered by the National Health Service. Therefore, the new provincial branch of the AECC focused its attention on many other necessary services such as:

• Prevention
• Early diagnosis
• Psychological support
• Rehabilitation
• Volunteer programmes
• Social work
• Accommodation in a furnished flat near the hospitals
• Palliative care
• Training of professionals
• Lobbying for better conditions for cancer patients.

Today, after almost 12 years of intensive work, including fundraising which is extremely important for an organization that has very few government grants, the AECC in Granada employs 24 professional who work towards reducing the incidence of cancer and directly help cancer patients and their families in the following ways, all of which are offered free of charge:

• Informative lectures about how to prevent cancer, including many programmes in schools, working with the children, their teachers and their parents.
• Therapy for giving up smoking
• A programme, working in collaboration with the Andaluz Health Service (SASX for breast screening. The AECC has both a permanent centre in Granada as well as a mobile unit which visits the towns and villages all over the province.
• A special programme for breast cancer sufferers, directed by our psychologists and specially trained volunteers who are breast cancer survivors. It includes hospital visits, free post surgery prostheses, psychological support, either individual or group therapy and cultural and leisure activities and excursions.
• Psychological support (6 psychologists): this includes individual and group therapy, either for patients or their families. Special attention is also paid to helping relatives cope with mourning.
• A specific programme for children with cancer, including psychological support for the patients and their parents, educational support, an annual trip to various locations such as Euro Disney, Isla Magica, Terra Mitica, etc and other fun events within and outside the hospital environment (parties and shows with collaboration from "clowns sans frontiers" etc...)
• Social help is available in many forms, the AECC in Granada has an excellent social worker employed full time who will help patients apply for pensions and other official grants, as well as arrange for direct financial help from the AECC in needy cases. The AECC has many special hospital beds, wheelchairs and other appliances which are available for loan.
• The AECC in Granada rents a lovely flat near the hospitals. It is fully and attractively furnished and is available for use, free of charge, for patients and one carer to stay during outpatient treatment and for the parents of children in hospital. There is room for three patients and three carers at any one time.
• Two physiotherapists, fully specialised in the side affects of cancer and its treatment, work in Granada and Motril. They are especially dedicated to the treatment of lymphadema.
• Speech therapy is carried out all over the province through the Association of Laryngectomees,
• Occupational therapy is available in Granada, Motril and Baza and is directed by specialized monitors.
• Hospital volunteers accompany and help patients in all the Granada hospitals as well as in Motril and Baza. They are trained and supervised by a specialized coordinator paid by the AECC. They also provide refreshments, press, magazines and board games etc for the patients and their carers. As well as a shoulder to cry on.
• Four home care teams, each consisting of a specialist doctor and a specialist nurse, work with patients who are in an advanced and unbeatable stage of their illness. These palliative care teams coordinate with the psychologists, social workers and volunteers in order to cover all the possible necessities of the patients and their families. The AECC has 6 cars and a driver available for this programme.
• All the professionals not only undergo constant up-to-date training, but also cooperate with the health service, self-help groups and many other entities to train and inform as many people as possible in order to further understanding about cancer.
• Several of our professionals and the President have been involved in lobbying for better hospital conditions for cancer patients, assisting as lecturers in courses for hospital directors, etc. On a more day to day level, the AECC has contributed greatly to improving the comfort of the oncology wards in all of the Granada hospitals, with donations such as special arm chairs, beds, decoration, library, etc

This is a brief summary of a lot of hard work. Funding all this is very difficult, especially in such a poor province. The annual budget is now almost one million euros and is covered largely thanks to fundraising volunteer work. There are more than 55 local branches of the AECC all over the province.

English Speaking Contact :: Patricia Love - Vice President Loja :: Contact via website ‘Making Contact with English in Loja’

You can also visit the AECC website, however this a Spanish language site only www.todocancer.org