ECOLOGICAL ONCOLOGISTS CRUISE
The Polish Society of Brachytherapy has created the #BrachyCares project, unique in oncology, which aims to holistically educate oncology patients and their families in order to raise awareness of the impact of the quality of our environment on the increase in the number of cancer cases.
The first element of the project was ecological cruise team of radiation oncologists dealing with cancer treatment on a daily basis, to the conference of the European Society of Radiotherapy (ESTRO) held in Copenhagen. The cruise was attended by the medical director of the Amethyst Radiotherapy Center, Marcin Hetnał, MD, PhD, who comments on this initiative:
– My observations and conversations with oncology patients show that many of them are not aware of the relationship between cancer and environmental factors and their lifestyle. Together with our colleagues and friends from the Polish Brachytherapy Society, we wondered if and how we could change this. We wanted to show that you can act differently, ecologically and healthily. That's why we chose a joint cruise to the annual conference of the European Society of Radiotherapy. We hope that in this way we have given an inspiring signal and example to our patients. Because only true passion, physical activity and changing habits (we could fly there by plane or choose to travel by car) can significantly help in the fight against the plague of the XNUMXst century, which is undoubtedly the incidence of cancer and malignant tumors in too many people in highly developed countries.
The team sailed from Kołobrzeg on May 3, reaching Copenhagen two days later. As explained by the originator of the action, the President of the Polish Brachytherapy Society, Piotr Wojcieszek, MD, PhD, who has a yacht helmsman certificate; The staff consists exclusively of radiation oncologists.
PTB is already planning further activities. Currently, he is gathering a group of scientists, not only oncologists, but e.g. oceanographers and climatologists, with whom he wants to create a guide from which we will be able to learn how various pollutants affect the natural environment, the development of cancer diseases and what each of us can do to prevent them. avoid. The Amethyst Radiotherapy Center in Krakow will actively support this initiative.
Brachytherapy is a method of contact or interstitial radiotherapy using ionizing radiation from radioactive isotopes. They are temporarily placed in the immediate vicinity of the tumor. Knowing how important local action is, radiotherapists want to translate this way of thinking into the field of ecological and oncological education. The #BrachyCares project is therefore an expression of concern for the climate, the world and broadly understood health.
