KAKO POMOĆI OBOLELIMA OD RAKA KOJI SU U NAJTEŽOJ FAZI TE BOLESTI?

U Srbiji još uvek nema dovoljno hospisa, specijalizovanih bolnica za smeštaj obolelih od kancera koji su u terminalnoj fazi, poslednjem i najtežem stadijumu te bolesti!

Lekari je dijagnostikuju kada konstatuju da lečenje hemioterapijama i lekovima više nema nikakvog efekta na obolelog i da su se metastaze proširile na ceo organizam.

Oboleli tada trpi velike bolove, ne može sam da radi oko sebe i neophodna mu je pomoć drugih. Nega pacijenata koji su u takvom periodu se drugačije naziva palijativno zbrinjavanje.

Njegova suština je da se obolelom omogući da fizički, ali i psihički, što je moguće lakše provede poslednji period života.

Važna je i verbalna podrška

Radi ostvarenja tog cilja u zdravstvenim sistemima svih zemalja na zapadu postoje hospisi, specijalizovane bolnice u kojima pomoć obolelima od raka u poslednjem stadijumu pružaju lekarski timovi sastavljeni od stručnjaka svih specijalnosti ali i psiholozi, psihijatri i sveštenici!

To je praksa, jer je obolelima od raka koji su u najtežem stadijumu najviše potrebna verbalna podrška.

Kako je kod nas?

Umesto da se zbog alarmantnog broja obolelih od raka hospisi u većoj meri otvaraju, u našoj državi još uvek ih nema dovoljno.

Zbog toga se mali broj obolelih u terminalnoj fazi smešta u državne bolnice i domove starih, a većina, nažalost, ostaje u svojim kućama.

Članovi njihovih porodica moraju da budu uz njih neprekidno, 24 časova dnevno. Da sve bude još gore, mnogo puta su prinuđeni da napuštaju posao i prodaju imovinu, da bi obolelima obezbedili kakvu-takvu negu.

Kakvu pomoć pruža „Belhospis“?

Kada je reč o ovom problemu, situacija bi bila još teža da u Beogradu nije aktivna humanitarna organizacija „Belhospis“ čija je misija palijativno zbrinjavanje obolelih koji su terminalnoj fazi raka.

Aktivisti „Belhospisa“, lekari svih struka obilaze obolele ili preko telefona njima i njihovim porodicama daju savete i to rade besplatno, bez ikakve novčane naknade.

„Belhospis“ ima i svoj časopis o palijativnom zbrinjavanju koji izlazi uz podršku Vlade Velike Britanije, kao i svoj hospis. Nažalost, njegov kapacitet je nedovoljan, jer može da primi samo četrdesetak obolelih.

Osim „Belhospisa“ o pacijentima kojima je neophodno palijativno zbrinjavanje se u Srbiji brinu samo zaposleni u jednoj privatnoj bolnici i dve državne medicinske ustanove što ni blizu nije dovoljno!

Koliko je ovaj problem alarmantan, najbolje se vidi iz podataka da godišnje u Srbiji oko 40.000 ljudi oboli od različitih vrsta raka, a da 30.000 njih izgubi bitku sa tom najtežom i podmuklom bolešću.

Zbog toga je otvaranje većeg broja hospisa u Srbiji nešto neophodno i neminovno, ukoliko naše društvo želi da bar malo olakša situaciju.

HOW TO HELP CANCER PATIENTS IN THE FINAL STAGES OF THE DISEASE?

In Serbia, there are still not enough hospices, specialized hospitals for the care of cancer patients who are in the terminal phase, the last and most difficult stage of the disease!

Doctors diagnose it when they determine that chemotherapy and medications are no longer effective and that the metastases have spread throughout the body.

At this stage, patients suffer great pain, cannot manage on their own, and require the assistance of others. The care of patients in this period is known as palliative care.

Its essence is to ensure that the patient can spend the last period of their life as comfortably as possible, both physically and psychologically.

Verbal Support is Also Important

To achieve this goal, Western countries have hospices, specialized hospitals where teams of medical professionals, including experts from all specialties, as well as psychologists, psychiatrists, and clergy, provide care for cancer patients in the final stages of the disease.

This is a common practice because, for cancer patients in the most severe stage of the illness, verbal support is crucial.

How is it in Our Country?

Instead of opening more hospices due to the alarming number of cancer patients, our country still lacks sufficient facilities.

As a result, only a small number of terminally ill patients are placed in state hospitals and nursing homes, while the majority, unfortunately, remain in their homes.

Family members have to be with them constantly, 24 hours a day. To make matters worse, they are often forced to quit their jobs and sell their property to provide some level of care for the patient.

What Kind of Help Does “Belhospice” Provide?

When it comes to this problem, the situation would be even more dire if it weren’t for the humanitarian organization “Belhospice” in Belgrade, whose mission is to provide palliative care for patients in the terminal stage of cancer.

“Belhospice” activists, doctors of all specialties, visit patients or offer advice to them and their families over the phone, and they do this for free, without any monetary compensation.

“Belhospice” also publishes a magazine on palliative care with support from the British Government, and they have their own hospice. Unfortunately, its capacity is insufficient as it can only accommodate around forty patients.

Apart from “Belhospice,” in Serbia, only one private hospital and two state medical institutions provide palliative care, which is far from enough!

The alarming nature of this problem is evident from the fact that around 40,000 people in Serbia are diagnosed with various types of cancer each year, and 30,000 of them lose their battle against this severe and insidious disease.

Therefore, opening more hospices in Serbia is essential and inevitable if our society wishes to ease the situation at least a little.