The COG presents its Integrative Oncology project

He Galicia Cancer Center (COG) has presented his Integrative Oncology Project in an event in which the importance of providing cutting-edge care that focuses on the humanization of care and comprehensive patient support. The center that not only seeks to treat the disease, but also improve the quality of life of patients through complementary therapies based on scientific evidence.

The presentation event marked a meeting point for doctors, patients and industry experts, who discussed the benefits of this comprehensive approach in oncology. The doctor Margarita Amenedohead of the COG Medical Oncology Service, and Dr. Alfonso Marinomanaging director of this, inaugurated the day by highlighting the need to humanize oncological treatment.

“Today we are talking about more than conventional treatments. Today it is no longer lost on anyone that a well-nourished patient, well advised on their daily diet during and before treatment, will be a patient who tolerates the treatments we need to cure them much better. Nor is it lost on anyone that for many physical exercise is another medicine“said Mariño. For his part, Amenedo pointed out that “for some time now we have been detecting these unmet needs in the day-to-day conversations of our patients. Although we have personalized and close treatment with them, the scope of a consultation does not cover aspects that can greatly improve the quality of life and their experience throughout their journey through this very complex pathology.”

Institutional support

The day also included the participation of institutional figures, such as the counselor of Health of the Xunta, Antonio Gómez Caamaño, who wanted to express his gratitude for “the transversal approach that you are going to do with discussion tables with different professionals who are going to contribute knowledge and experience to this integrative oncology”. Likewise, he wanted to highlight “the extraordinary work that the COG has been doing for many years. It is an honor for A Coruña to have this center. A strategic ally of the Ministry of Health.” In addition, he wanted to reaffirm, once again, “the commitment of the Ministry of Health to addressing cancer in our autonomous community, in which we have a very comprehensive and very holistic vision.”

The counselor also attended Education of the Xunta, Román Rodríguez González, who wanted to “congratulate Margarita and the entire team for launching this project in our cancer center and because there will be nothing but benefits in such an important area, and of course so necessary, when caring for those who, close to us, are going through moments close to this disease.” Both offered their support to the project, recognizing its relevance to the advancement of cancer care in the region and its contribution to improving the quality of life of patients.

Integrative therapies

Next, a documentary video was presented that showed the positive impact of integrative therapies on patientsfollowed by a round table moderated by Xosé Ramón Gayoso. In it, experts such as Dr. Pablo Álvarez, COG medical oncologist; Alejandro Martínez, COG hospital pharmacist; o Rosa Trillo, psycho-oncologist at the AECC in A Coruña and the COG, spoke about the tangible benefits of incorporating these therapies into conventional oncological treatment. In fact, Dr. Álvarez explained that “in recent years there has been a revolution in Oncology. New treatments have arrived that have allowed us to increase the survival of our patients.”

Likewise, he pointed out that “with this help we have the means at any time to be able to rely on the figure of a psycho-oncologist, a nurse, or palliative medicine or what we have in the center of home hospitalization.” For her part, Rosa Trillo highlighted that “it is an illness that suddenly bursts into a person’s life. Suddenly a diagnosis arrives that totally changes that reality and interrupts that vital project, and that will lead to a feeling of uncertainty and loss of control over one’s life.”

In this sense, the panel also included valuable testimonies from the patients themselves, who shared their personal experiences about how complementary therapies have helped them cope with treatment and improve your general well-being. Among them, Almudena Amor, nurse at the COG Day Hospital; Cristina Medina, actress and cancer patient; and Juan Deus, COG patient.

The day culminated with a musical performance by pianist Pablo Jara Jiménez and actress Cristina Medina, who provided attendees with an experience of relaxation and enjoyment, in line with the comprehensive and humanized approach of the project.

This initiative has the support of Innovative Solutions for Healthcare (ISH), a unit of the global company specialized in cancer BeOne Medicines that promotes innovative solutions to cover and satisfy the most urgent needs of cancer patients and their immediate environment in conjunction with Spanish hospitals and centers, favoring more personalized care tailored to the characteristics of each person.