A hundred children with cancer have benefited from the Secuelas Scheme set up by AFANION
01/06/2017

A hundred children with cancer have benefited from the Secuelas Scheme set up by AFANION

This scheme has been made possible thanks to the support of public and private entities, such as Ingeteam. Tomorrow, Ingeteam and AFANION are organising an environmental volunteer's day to be held in the Botanical Gardens of Castilla-La Mancha, concluding with the planting of a tree and the inauguration of a commemorative plaque of both institutions. 

The advances in medicine over the last few decades have made it possible to increase the paediatric oncology survival rates. This has resulted in a greater awareness of the short, medium and long-term effects of this disease and/or its treatment. This increase in life expectancy, primarily associated with more aggressive therapies, is accompanied by a large number of physical, psychological and social consequences that have a negative impact on the quality of life of these young survivors. Therefore, over the last few decades, one of the main concerns of the professionals caring for children with cancer has been to gain a greater knowledge of the consequences experienced in the subsequent 20 to 40 years.

Cancer diseases are one of the causes of ABI (Acquired Brain Injury), with medium and long-term neuropsychological effects. This is the case in the two most-common types of cancer experienced at a paediatric age: acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and brain tumours. Among the long-term effects experienced, those affecting cognitive behaviour are extremely important. Imaging studies on children with cancer reveal brain damage (affectation of white and grey matter) caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy alike. Other factors such as pathology, treatments, age, sex, etc. modulate the brain damage and its effects. In addition to these neuropsychological impacts, fine motor skill problems and limitations in daily activities are common, all of which condition subsequent adjustment at school, in the workplace and in society.

For all these reasons, in 2015 AFANION implemented a scheme to comprehensively address the detection, prevention and rehabilitation of these side effects (secuelas in Spanish) under the name of Servicio de Atención a Secuelas (service to provide support for side effects).

Servicio de Atención a Secuelas 

In Albacete, 10 interventions were made in 2015, 14 in 2016 and, so far this year, more than 30, confirming the consolidation of this service that is of such importance to young survivors.

In 2016 AFANION invested more than 10,000 € in this service. This scheme would be impossible to implement without the support of public and private entities, such as Ingeteam. Last year, this Albacete-based company, specialising in the renewables sector, signed a collaboration agreement with AFANION to support the implementation of the Secuelas Scheme. From then onwards, right up to now, one hundred children have received treatment under this scheme.

Ingeteam is to continue its support for this project for yet another year, thereby confirming its commitment to the communities in which it operates, returning to the public much of what it receives.

In the course of this year, Ingeteam and the company's employees have carried out a number of activities for charity. The latest activity is to take place this Friday. Namely a corporate environmental volunteers' day to be held in the Botanical Gardens of Castilla-La Mancha, in which Ingeteam employees and AFANION members are set to take part in an eco-gymkhana and a series of workshops, concluding with the planting of a tree and the inauguration of a commemorative plaque of both institutions.

Ingeteam

Ingeteam Service is a member of the Ingeteam Group, with registered offices in Albacete (Spain). The company started up in 1999 and is currently a leader in the provision of operation and maintenance services at energy generating and exchange facilities, and enjoys a global presence. It has a total maintained power of more than 10 GW. Ingeteam Service provides services to: wind farms; photovoltaic installations; and power generation plants.

The Ingeteam Group operates throughout the world, with a head count of more than 3,700 persons. R&D is the backbone of its business activity, in which more than 5% of the company's turnover is invested annually.

AFANION

Is the association of Families of Children with Cancer in Castilla-La Mancha. It was formed on the 19th December 1995 for the purpose of improving the quality of life of this group.

It is a NON-PROFIT ASSOCIATION, formed by a group of parents experiencing the same situation of having a child suffering from cancer.

It sees to the needs of children and adolescents suffering from cancer and living in Castilla-La Mancha, with ages ranging from 0 to 19 years, and their families. Support is offered throughout the entire process of the disease, until the family has no further cancer-related psycho-social repercussions.

In Spain, 1,100 cases of cancer in children and 400 new cases in teenagers are diagnosed each year. In the world, every 3 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer, with an estimated 250,000 children and teenagers diagnosed with one of the 16 types of children's cancer, which are different from adult cancer types.



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