| CCF Activities |
CCF organises and conducts Cancer awareness programmes, festival celebrations, educational sessions, seminars and workshops inorder to :
The seminar on Depression, held on 22nd August'98 in the GKNM Hospital was attended by 175 individuals from varied disciplines like medical and para-medical staff, social-worker, psychologists and students. Dr.Kuruvilla, HOD, PSG College of Medical Sciences, Dr.K.Chaturvedi, Additional Professor, Psychiatry Department, NIMHANS, Bangalore, Mrs.Janet Parameshwara, Social worker, KIDWAI Memorial Institute of Oncology, Dr.Deepa Mohan, Psychologist and Ms.Nina Mehta, Senior Counsellor, CCF, addressed the different facets of depression. DEPRESSION IN CANCER PATIENTS - A CCF EXPERIENCE "Many people experience serious stress during their lives. It is not just stress but the way of reacting to stress that makes a difference in the susceptibility to disease. We have all learnt rules about who are and how we are to act, which provide the limits within which we cope with stresses. In some cases, these rules limit a person's ability to cope with stress to point that the stresses seem to pose unsolvable problems. The result can be Depression, Despair, Hopelessness and Helplessness - all feelings, that have been reported to precede cancer. Because of these feelings, at either a conscious or unconscious level, serious illness or death become acceptable as potential solutions. Sadness involves a flow of feeling, therefore has a limit and it never involves a lessening of self - esteem. Depression is frozen, it tends to persist or recur indefinitely, and always involves loss of self-esteem. A study was made, based on the 80 records of the counselors. The records contained the details of the behavioural symptoms observed in the patients and the counselling interventions made, including the relaxation / visualization / imagery used. The results of how a patient feels at the end of the counseling was also noted. Psycho-Social Management of Depression includes utilizing educational techniques such as responding to questions, providing facts and giving reassurance; interpretation and clarification of psychological dynamics often lead to exploration of more coping mechanisms. For example : Aruna, a patient aged 58 years diagnosed with Cancer of the Uterus was not willing to take treatment. When asked the reason, she said "I am scared". Deep exploration of feelings helped her become aware that; what worried her the most was "They say : You will not be alive, after taking Radiation". Regular follow-ups, information on cancer and importance of "sell", helped her gain more insights; her beliefs were confronted and more inputs were given on the treatment aspects. Aruna listened to what was said, did not make any decision regarding her treatment; b;ut said "I'll meet you after two days". My thoughts were that she would not agree for the treatment, A few days later she met me during one of our group counselling sessions and said "I have started the treatment and I am doing fine!" Hence, Counseling is not advising or convincing the person, but; TO BE AVAILABLE TO THEM AT THE TIME OF THEIR CRISIS; TO PROVOKE THEIR THOUGHTS TO UNDERSTAND THEIR PROBLEMS AND SUGGEST OPTIONS. COMMON INTERVENTIONS USED BY THE COUNSELORS ARE
These interventions assist the patients in strengthening their beliefs in the effectiveness of treatment and also achieve a realistic Quality of Life. Relaxation Techniques helped the Patients to take responsibility for their health; helped them to relax and to express their thoughts and feelings. In some cases, this process has helped them to decrease their fear; attitudinal changes are seen and the "Will to Live" is strengthened. The climate and approach in the Group Sessions, bring persons together to help express, share and support. They gain an insight - "Problems do exist, but the way we perceive the problem can be changed. Here the counselor helps them tap their inner resources. Skits and role-plays in the Group Sessions help them to understand Cancer - its causes, symptoms, treatment and prevention - This removes the Myths and Stigma attached to the disease." Excerpts of the paper presented by Nina in the seminar. RESEARCH IN CCF CCF's Founder Chairman Mr.K.Sreenivasan dreamed of CCF entering the research arena in the 5th year of its inception - this dream started becoming a reality when CCF got its recognition as a research institution last year. Research in the real sense of the word, i.e.re-searching the frontiers of experience and knowledge, delving into the known and unknown worlds to seek answers to fundamental questions of life and death that confront patients in the cancer wards, began on the July 8, 1998 in CCF. The question that arose was "What will be the topic for research?" the research team guided by Mr..Senthamarai, decided to explore the unique quality of CCF. This quality when identified, understood and made meaning of, can be crystallized and even shared with the society at large. In this exploratory process, a knowledge base to hone counseling skills that will be of immediate use to the cancer patients can be established. Knowledge, the team discovered, has four levels
At the superficial level, counseling might simply be answering questions and sitting with the patients; the counselor downloads onto the patient, whatever she/he believes in or knows; Counselling at the common sense level is reaching out, comforting and soothing the patient; the patient feels some relief and the helper has the experience of having made contact. Scientific counseling can happen when the counselor analyses her interventions, makes meaning of her experience with the patient and plans a strategy for future interventions. Here counseling is a relationship between the patient and the counselor, from which both benefit and learn. Reaching the philosophical level means creating an environment of spiritual interconnectedness and togetherness as the patient and the counselor explore fundamental questions like: "Why me?" "What have I done to deserve this?" "Why now?" Questions for which there are no standard and readymade answers. The topic chosen for research is "TA in Cancer counseling". Transactional Analysis, TA as it is popularly known, is a wide ranging set of psychological theories and techniques developed by Dr.Eric Berne. TA can be used by individuals and groups to enable and help themselves and others to grow and develop to their full potential. Cancer counseling in CCF has been developed using TA for the training and supervision of counselors. Now, the team is endeavoring to teach simple TA concepts to the patients to help them handle their disease and life. This is found to be effective in helping them look at themselves objectively and seek options for being proactive despite the lurking fear of a life threatening disease. A beginning has been made in CCF to make our Founder Chairman's dream of CCF disseminating its experiences and learnings to society a reality. Through research, CCF is attempting to add value to an individual in the process of "alleviating the pain and suffering of fellow cancer patients". A STORY THE STORY TILL NOW His end is the beginning of this story-Salim, with cancer of the spinal chord died like he had lived, bravely and strongly. A retired government employee, eldest of seven children, Salim took care of his siblings since his father died, when he was fourteen years old. Having settled them in life, Salim too settled with his wife and work. Years rolled past and it dawned on Salim, almost suddenly, that he was no longer the head of the clan. After retirement came disillusionment, loneliness and the diagnosis of cancer. Immobilized, he was hurting and hurtful. With a bleak prognosis of a few months, Salim lay in bed seething and demanding. Days moved, quite slowly and he too started moving his legs. He attended an in-patients session in a wheel-chair to tell the other patients: "DON'T GIVE UP" The Continuation Salim went home, about two months later from VNCC. Years, rolled past and one afternoon, a well built man walked into the CCF counseling room. The counselors started in surprise-yes it was Salim, healthy and as usual confident. He spoke a lot about his experiences outside the hospital and continued to visit CCF, quite regularly. He complained about the injustices in life and the incompetency of people and systems-Salim was tired of everything and everyone it seemed; he felt let-down by the very people he had slogged for. Salim had hope, but not for himself:"Cancer is Allah's way of teaching me a lesson" he said when he was admitted in VNCC again. The will to live had left Salim, though he improved and walked back home. A telephone call informed CCF that Salim had died from a heart attack. The End... |