The mental health and psychosocial aspects of care for people with a cancer diagnosis are often neglected. Recognizing the critical need to support people living with cancer, Greece established the Day Centre for Psychological Support for Cancer Patients in Athens in 2003. Since then, the Centre has grown significantly, earning widespread recognition for its impact. Founded by Professor Sakellaropoulos, as part of the Society of Social Psychiatry P. Sakellaropoulos, it is the first of its kind in Greece.
“The professor’s goal was to offer a service from people to people, with respect for the dignity of the individual, with optimism and hope for the patient and his/her family,” explains Athina Fragkouli, President of the Society of Social Psychiatry P. Sakellaropoulos.
Combating cancer through mental health support
Across the WHO European Region, nearly 4.9 million people were diagnosed with cancer in 2022, with a cumulative risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 of 26.9%. With more than 3.7 million new cases and 1.9 million deaths each year, cancer represents the second most common cause of death and morbidity in Europe, after cardiovascular diseases.
In Greece alone, approximately 65 500 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2022, with a significant percentage of these individuals experiencing psychological symptoms such as depression, adjustment disorders and anxiety.
The integration of mental health care into services for people with cancer and other noncommunicable diseases provides an easy and non-stigmatizing way to access mental health and psychosocial support services. Efforts to improve cancer care globally must focus on ensuring that mental health services are an integral and accessible aspect of care for all.
The Day Centre
The Day Centre is one of the few specialized facilities providing mental health services in psycho-oncology, designed to support cancer patients who need psychological assistance alongside their medical treatment. This support helps patients cope with the challenges and changes related to their illness, while also offering assistance to their relatives, who frequently bear much of the caregiving responsibility and may also require psychological support, including counselling.
Funded by the Greek Ministry of Health, the Day Centre provides free psychological support, counselling, psychiatric care, family therapy and social intervention. “We recognize psychological support as part of holistic cancer treatment.” states psychologist, Katialena Sourvinou, highlighting the aim of this comprehensive set of services for people with cancer and their families.
Social worker, Eftihia Artemi, further describes the Centre’s mission: “What we have been doing is supporting the beneficiaries – patients, relatives – in the process of coping with the disease and its challenges, to work through their experience of cancer, to express their feelings, especially the painful and difficult ones, to choose which adjustments they will make to meet the demands and changes that the disease brings”.
A user of the Day Centre services reported: “I couldn’t express emotions before therapy, but now I am able to recognize not only mine, but also other people’s feelings! ‘Well done’ to me and my therapist! I give many thanks for my life and for the lives of those involved with mine.”
WHO in Greece
The WHO Office on Quality of Care and Patient Safety in Athens, established in April 2021 and supported by the Government of Greece, works closely with Member States across the WHO European Region to provide tailored support, assist in the development of national strategies and frameworks, and facilitate the exchange of successful interventions to raise health-care standards.
The Athens Office collaborates closely with WHO/Europe’s mental health flagship initiative to promote mental health care in Greece and to improve the quality of child and adolescent mental health care in Greece and across the WHO European Region.