- The “EducaSalud” project, honored at the Social Value Awards, allows the service to reach La Gomera and El Hierro for the first time.
- The initiative focuses on providing information, training and counseling.
Fundación Cepsa and the Tenerife Breast Cancer Association (Amate) have boosted care for breast cancer patients and their families through the “EducaSalud” project, which since last January has assisted 710 people through its information, training and counseling service and aims to reach nearly 800 by the end of August.
The project, one of the five winners of the 2020 Fundación Cepsa Social Value Awards, has helped to reinforce the entity's scope of action, extending the service, which has been routinely provided in Tenerife, to the islands of La Gomera and El Hierro for the first time.
The director of Fundación Cepsa in the Canary Islands, Belén Machado, and the project's sponsor, Cristina Martín-Carbajal, visited the Amate facilities to learn first-hand about the work being done to support women with breast cancer. The meeting was attended by the president of Amate, Mari Carmen Bonfante, and the head of the “EducaSalud” project, Claudia Héctor, along with members of the organization's work team.
During the meeting, Belén Machado stressed the importance of the care Amate provides to people affected by this disease, adding that “now that it is available on La Gomera and El Hierro as well, patients can overcome the limitations on those islands to access key services for their physical and psychological wellbeing and to normalize their daily life.” She also highlighted “this association's important work to raise awareness of the early detection of breast cancer, a fundamental issue that deserves special attention.”
For her part, the president of Amate, Carmen Bonfante, praised the Fundación Cepsa award, stressing that "it is a source of great pride and an incentive for our association to have been recognized with the Fundación Cepsa award,” which has made it possible to “fulfill our dream of reaching more people.” She added that she was confident that the public agencies would continue to support this project, since “cancer patients in the non-capital islands deserve the same care as those living in Tenerife.”
The “EducaSalud” Project
The “EducaSalud” project focuses on providing personalized care to breast cancer patients to help them face their new situation in the best possible conditions.
In this sense, the psychology service is one of the most demanded and most helpful to users. Other activities offered by the association to improve quality of life include physical therapy, oncology esthetics and nutrition sessions, in addition to the support of social workers.
Along with these personalized services, Amate carries out an intense awareness-raising campaign through talks and workshops on the early detection of breast cancer, given by a psychologist specialized in oncology.
“EducaSalud” has provided individual assistance to 166 people in Tenerife and given 23 talks (online, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic) attended by 400 people. In La Gomera, 42 people have benefited from the services to date, while more than one hundred have participated in 11 talks and one workshop.
Dealing with the myths and fears about breast cancer in society and delving into the risk factors are some of the main aspects addressed in Amate’s talks on the early detection of breast cancer.
They also cover topics such as how to perform a breast self-examination, how to detect different signs that may indicate the presence of breast cancer, as well as developing healthy lifestyle habits that help prevent future diseases.
In the case of El Hierro, Amate has focused on bringing visibility to the association and is working to consolidate the service on the island.
Social Value Awards
The Social Value Awards are one of the stand-out initiatives of Fundación Cepsa. Granted annually, their purpose is to support disadvantaged individuals, groups and sectors, as well as to promote values of solidarity. To this end, the organization relies on the involvement of the professionals at Cepsa, who sponsor the programs presented by the NGOs.
The next round of nominations for these awards, which are a boost for social organizations, will open in the first half of September.
