For the second time, the DKMS Foundation has awarded grants for initiatives and projects involving psychological support for patients with blood and blood-forming diseases and their families. As many as 35 applications were submitted for this year's edition, 10 of which will receive financial support totalling PLN 648,679.00.
The DKMS Foundation is not only a Marrow Donor Centre, but also an organisation that works to improve the conditions and quality of treatment for patients with cancer and haematopoietic diseases. The DKMS Foundation Grant Project, implemented as part of the Programme for the Development of Polish Transplantology and Patient Support since 2022, is aimed at non-governmental organisations and aims to provide psychological assistance to haematological patients and their relatives in the process of treatment and recovery.
In times of widespread and fundamental social, cultural and economic change, cancer is still perceived and experienced as one of the most serious crises in a person's life. A key task of psycho-oncological support is to adapt to the new situation and to equip the patient and his or her loved ones with the capacities and psychological tools to function effectively in this difficult situation.
- For many sufferers, a cancer diagnosis is the most difficult experience of their lives. It is the moment when one confronts the fragility of life and the passing of time. Fortunately, most patients focus on treatment and increasingly seek the help of a psycho-oncologist. By talking to a person with expertise, the patient can better understand his or her emotional state, which consequently has a positive impact on the patient's overall functioning. I am therefore delighted that the DKMS Foundation has taken on the role of supporting the care of the field of psycho-oncology, which is of great importance in the patient's treatment and recovery process - says Mariola Kosowicz, MD, PhD, clinical psychologist, psychotherapist, psycho-oncologist, Head of the Mental Health Outpatient Clinic at the Maria Skłodowska-Curie National Institute of Oncology - Research Institute in Warsaw.
Record number of applications
Applications for the DKMS Foundation Grant could be submitted until the end of April 2023. The total pool of funds was PLN 700,000, with the Beneficiary being able to apply for a maximum of PLN 90,000 grant per project. Organisations working for the benefit of Patients from all over Poland submitted as many as 35 initiatives. The grant applications were very diverse, which shows how many needs of patients and the medical community in the field of psycho-oncology there are to take care of.
Results of the 2nd edition of the DKMS Foundation Grant
In mid-May, the Jury, consisting of prof. Marzena Samardakiewicz - President of the Polish Psycho-Oncology Association, Izabela Dębicka-Starska - Member of the Management Board of the Klon/Jawor Association, coordinator of social projects, Ewa Visan - Manager of Fundraising, PR and Patient Programme Teams of the DKMS Foundation, Magdalena Przysłupska - Spokesperson of the DKMS Foundation, and Andrzej Dziedzic - Patient after haematopoietic stem cell transplant, President of the Swimming Palestra Foundation. The jury analysed all the applications submitted and selected 10 projects to receive financial support for their implementation. The DKMS Foundation Grant Beneficiaries included:
- Slupsk Association for the Development of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation. Project: Psychological PoMoc. A common cause. Scope: psychological support for adult haematology patients, their relatives and medical staff.
- Foundation In Relation to Cancer. Project: psychological workshops for haematooncology patients based on the cancer coaching method (continuation of the project from the 1st edition of the Grant).
- The Good That You Are Foundation. Project: Development of the National Oncology Volunteer Network (ROS-ONKO) - expansion of volunteering. Scope: non-medical support for oncology and haematology patients by providing them with the only programme of permanent support for teams of trained oncology volunteers in Poland.
- Children's Choir. Association for the Support of Marrow Transplantation and Paediatric Oncology. Project: a Choir Help Box including therapeutic stories (written and audio) combined with cards about emotions in illness and training in the principles of using the therapy cards for parents, volunteers and staff. An 'Emotional First Aid' guide for parents will also be produced.
- Help Im Foundation for Children with Cancer and Children's Hospice. Project: Power of Help 2, which is a continuation from the 1st edition of the grant of the psychological support project for doctors, families of children under the care of the clinic and after hospital treatment. Scope: psychological and developmental support for volunteers, organisation of periodic activities for patients combined with integration with volunteers.
- Ms Ani Foundation. Project: Empowered Workshops for young survivors AYA (Adolescent Young Adults) combined with an incubator of needs and ideas for improving quality of life - showing young people and young adults after cancer treatment how to cope with difficult emotions related to the disease and its consequences.
- Unicorn Association. Project: ON_KOnsultacje - free psychological consultations for haematooncology patients and their relatives (364 hours of inpatient and online consultations).
- Gaius Foundation. Project: We open the OKNO to the world, which includes support for children after an oncological illness. Organisation of a trip during which a group of patients will receive support through therapeutic-activation meetings, self-help meetings for parents and individual meetings with a psychologist.
- Equally Important Foundation. Project: Together for equal opportunities for children. Scope: family-directed activities, including psychological and developmental support for siblings of children with haematological diseases.
- Leave Your Trace Foundation. Project: the Big Book of Therapeutic Fairy Tales 'Eve's Unusual Animals' - ONCO decalogue of emotions. Scope: supporting children and adolescents through cancer, supporting parents/guardians of families of sick children and medical staff to communicate about difficult emotions with young patients and their parents/guardians.
- We are delighted that NGOs responded in such large numbers to our invitation to participate in the 2nd edition of the DKMS Foundation Grant. The 35 applications submitted are 95% more than in the previous, pilot edition. We are full of admiration and can say with all responsibility that the level of content was very high, and that the initiatives selected by the Jury will truly support the treatment and recovery process of haematological patients -. says Ewa Nawrot, Co-ordinator for Cooperation with Patient Organisations of the DKMS Foundation.
Organisations that participated in the 2nd edition of the DKMS Foundation Grant could submit projects in two categories, i.e. psychological support for young and young hematology patients (up to 18 years of age) and psychological support for adult hematology patients.
Nearly 2,000 people supported - these are the results of the 1st edition of Grants
In the first edition of the DKMS Foundation Grant, 18 initiatives were submitted, and the Jury selected 6 projects that received financial support totalling PLN 297 789.41. The projects implemented by the Beneficiaries in the field of psycho-oncology supported almost 2,000 people (both the sick and their relatives) - these are the real effects of the help that was provided in the pilot edition of the Grant. - The completed initiatives primarily involved the local communities around which the patient organisations are grouped. However, thanks to the NGOs' extensive online activities, we can say that many more patients and their relatives have benefited from this support, of which we are immensely proud. adds Ewa Nawrot, DKMS Foundation.
Among the projects carried out were: workshops for volunteers, as well as for doctors and nurses, through which they were equipped with psychological knowledge and the ability to work with haematological patients. Patients were able to benefit from therapeutic and activation meetings, as well as individual consultations or teleconsultations. On the other hand, newly diagnosed young patients received an 'adaptation kit' to help them adapt to their cancer diagnosis and hospitalisation.
More information about the DKMS Foundation Grant is available at https://www.dkms.pl/dotacja-fundacji-dkms