Sun Feb 11, 7:00 PM Health
In April, the Drop-in Point for Living with and after Cancer at the Máxima Oncological Center (MOC) will open its doors. A team of well-trained volunteers will provide psychosocial support to cancer patients in the 2 locations of the Máxima MC (MMC). This is done in collaboration with De Eik, the regional center that has been committed to the same target group for years.
VELDHOVEN – 3 years ago, Ton Beysens (75) was told that he had metastatic lung cancer. “A huge shock,” he remembers. “Which I didn’t know what to do at the time. I received the results and a treatment plan, I made the necessary follow-up appointments and got in my car home. Once home I didn’t know where to look. No one could absorb all my intense feelings at that moment, but I would have liked it if there had been a place in the hospital where I could have quietly let go of the bad news and found someone to listen.”
Listening ear
Máxima MC will meet exactly that need in both the Veldhoven and Eindhoven locations from April. The diagnosis of cancer turns a person’s life upside down, as internist-oncologist Lieke Simkens knows better than anyone. She says: “During my busy consultation hours, I have an average of 15 minutes per patient. I have to tell him or her how he or she is doing medically, I have to discuss the treatment options and I would also like to respond to what all this means for him or her. I try to use those fifteen minutes as efficiently as possible, but I simply don’t have the time to give the attention I would like. That is why I am pleased that a team of well-trained volunteers will arrive at short notice, who will provide a listening ear in peace and quiet.”
“The hospital is primarily about the patient, but don’t forget their loved ones,” says Angelique Brands, who, as a breast cancer nurse specialist, knows how great the impact of this disease can be on family and friends.
Doctor Lieke Simkens hopes that the Drop-in Point will form a connection between the hospital and home. “As a cancer patient you are often in the hospital. It is nice if there is a place where you are welcomed informally, where you can be yourself, ask for advice and receive additional information.”
The drop-in points are open on working days.
‘It’s nice
if there is room
for informal
assylum’
2024-02-11 18:00:00
#Máxima #dropin #point #cancer
