Europa Donna Albania works to raise awareness of breast cancer and to mobilize the support of Albanian women in pressing for improved breast cancer education, appropriate screening and optimal treatment. Europa Donna Albania represents the interests of Albanian women regarding breast cancer to local and national authorities.
Europa Donna Albania is a sub-branch of “Europa Donna”, which is a European non-profit organization composed of many sub-branches all over Europe.
Mission Europa Donna Albania works to raise awareness of breast cancer and to mobilize the support of Albanian women in pressing for improved breast cancer education, appropriate screening and optimal treatment. EDA represents the interests of Albanian women regarding breast cancer to local and national authorities.
Aims:
• To promote the dissemination and exchange of factual, up-to-date information on breast cancer.
• To promote breast awareness and breast cancer prevention.
• To emphasize the need for appropriate screening, early detection and diagnosis.
• To campaign for the provision of, and access to, multidisciplinary and specialized treatment and care for all disease stages.
• To ensure the provision of quality supportive care throughout and after treatment. To advocate appropriate training for health professionals.
• To acknowledge good practice and promote its development.
• To demand regular quality assessment of breast services.
• To ensure that all women understand fully any proposed treatment options, including entry into clinical trials and their right to a second opinion.
• To promote the advancement of breast cancer research.
Series of podcasts and Facebook/Instagram Live with health professionals, nutritionists, psychologists and patients; Publishing accurate information and updating it
Europa Donna Albania has changed all the strategy and plans of their activities for 2020 due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. They have brought an 'innovation' (in terms of patient organizations) by publishing live videos and podcasts on their official pages. Through the podcasts (they recorded some), they are making a difference in the way we communicate with and towards patients. Physician messages, repeated to patients in the comfort and privacy of the patient’s home, are an excellent way to provide care to patients. With podcasts available, patients can have questions and they can respond with information, but then direct the patient and family to the podcasts, saving your own office time. They as a patient organization need to aggressively use all the educational tools available to them.
*Keeping People Safe and informed about the Coronavirus
Europa Donna Albania was supporting the public community’s (patients and familiars) to keep people safe and informed during the Coronavirus public health crisis. They are also working to address the long-term impacts by supporting this category in need and making it easier for people to find and offer help in their communities. They are trying since the pandemic started to provide access to accurate information, supporting relief efforts and keeping people connected. They will continue to do this with every new information and updating about COVID-19 and Breast Cancer.
o They were doing and they are doing this by ensuring everyone has access to accurate information. They have done this by bringing all the information to the public and patients (and their familiars) on their website. Any information updated by the ESMO, ASCO, ECCO and EFP, was adapted in Albanian and accessible information for them. For any information, they have sought the exact sources, wanting to inform patients and family members with real and accurate publications. They have done this by including the voice of health professionals and psychological advice from psychologists who work on a daily basis in Oncology here in Albania.
o They have also offered the option of questions from patients or family members and they have given them professional answers, offering the solution or options how it can be solved.
o They are actively trying to fight false information by helping people share accurate information directly from global health authorities (WHO, UNICEF, ESMO, ASCO, EFP, ECCO).
o Newsletter
Newsletter have articles dedicated to patients of this category, activities that Europa Donna Albania has held as well as other materials with a focus on breast health.
"Race for the Cure Albania"
For the first time, in 2020, Albania becomes part of one of the most famous events in the world. Due to COVID-19 the whole strategy of "Think Pink" has changed and the competitions will be held in different cities with a team of several people (will be formed as desired). "Race for the Cure Albania" was a great event, even in the pandemic situation and also was bad weather, a lot of people gathered and race for their familiars, friends or for their beloved ones. Also, a lot of representatives from Public Institutions was in the event.
In 2022 they organized RFTC in two different cities to involve other communities as well, not just the capital, Tirana.
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Donate hair, Give Hope
Since in 2016 Europa Donna Albania launched the campaign “Donate Hair, Give Hope”. This is one of the most successful campaigns in our organization and we have decided to continue it because a lot of women need it but also a lot of young girls and women to want to give their hair for this cause. It is a great opportunity for us to be in touch with all these people that want to contribute to Breast Cancer Women. Every year we have made an activity for this campaign and joined us a lot of people and the media too. These activities help us not just to realize the donation campaign but also to share information about BC and MBC and to raise awareness among the attendees.