News
21 October 2016

SPARC grant awardees - Meet Helena from Greece

Helena Linardou is one of the six medical oncologists coordinating the ‘Hellenic Alliance for MBC’ together with Sofia, Eleni, Zenia, Athina and Amanda. Zoe and Elisabeth from the patient volunteer group KEFI complete the W4O-Hellas coordinating committee.  

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As part of the SPARC MBC Challenge launched in partnership with Pfizer, W4O-Hellas is developing a dynamic Forum for Women with MBC in Greece for patient education and advocacy. For the first time in this country, patient associations and support groups unite with a non-profit organization.

Why weren’t you able to carry out your project before being part of the SPARC program?

Our organization, W4O-Hellas, is a network of women oncology professionals offering support and education to women with cancer and their families. Through the SPARC program we have been able to efficiently bring together patient volunteer groups as well as key persons from media, state and oncology, in order to raise awareness for metastatic breast cancer. This program has given us the power to form solid collaborations and has enabled the creation of an innovative online tool for MBC which we hope will be an example for similar platforms for other cancers.

What do patients tell you when you engage them on the project? What do they think of the project?

There has been a lot of enthusiasm from patient volunteers wanting to engage in the application of the online tool! We already have a support line and a group of volunteers trained to assist. The patients and caregivers that have visited the platform have all expressed significant interest and this strengthens our belief that this tool will be very helpful in supporting and educating MBC patients in our country.

Can you please describe yourself in one word?

We are a hardworking and persistent team - always optimistic towards life.

What is your philosophy towards your work?

Our philosophy is that the power of teamwork can move mountains! We seek collaborations in every step, and we work with our patients in a life-partnership. Each one of us- physician, patient, caregiver, volunteer- is an equal part of a strong bond that keeps us all going…

What are the next steps of your project?

To largely implement the scopes of the ‘Hellenic Alliance for MBC’ and identify all the needs of MBC patients in Greece, in order to support and suggest solutions wherever we can.

 

For more information about the SPARC initiative and related projects, please click here.

 

Last update

Friday 07 June 2019

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