The following post can be found on the official LIVESTRONG blog. The post comments on the work done at the Center of Panagia Philanthropini in Ormylia.
...proudly supports!
At the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit in 2009 we initiated a global call for Commitments in the fight against cancer. Nearly 300 organizations, individuals, leaders and corporations made formal Commitments. As a way of highlighting their immense efforts in battling this disease, we will feature a different organization each week, sharing stories of progress and success from around the globe.
This week takes us to Chalkidike, Northern Greece where The Ormylia Foundation’s Panagia Philanthropini Center is making a profound difference in the lives of many underprivileged women living in remote communities in the area. Much of northern Greece is made up of hard-to-reach seaside and mountain villages where residents had no access to organized cancer screenings before the center’s creation. In response to this severe lack of access to care, the Center began providing free screenings to underprivileged women in 1991 and has since then also begun educational outreach.
In response to LIVESTRONG’s call for Global Commitments in the fight against cancer, the Ormylia Foundation formally committed to scaling up their outreach to groups that are acutely underprivileged- primarily Muslim religious groups (Pomaks, Romas and other Turkish speaking communities) from the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Ormylia’s initiative is uniquely holistic, focusing on not only keeping women healthy, but advocating for their quality of life: “By detecting early-stage breast and cervical cancer, and subsequently employing less invasive treatment, this program will prevent the deterioration of the social web of these fragile populations, keeping women healthy and productive with a high quality of life.”
With a goal of scaling up their annual screenings to reach 35,000 women in the next five years, and with a 95% survival rate for women diagnosed, Ormylia is making an incredible impact on the lives of women who need their care.
LIVESTRONG proudly supports the Ormylia Foundation’s efforts, and we look forward to sharing their continued success.
Blog by LIVESTRONG staffer Rebekkah Schear and intern Lance Pyburn.
Attican Sky before the race, Zappion on my right
Cancer will soon be the leading killer of women and men worldwide. Already, cancer kills more people annually than malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDs combined.
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