| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立中正大學 === 社會福利系 === 91 === The breast cancer is very common among women between the age of forty and sixty. It brings tremendous burdens not only to the patients but also to the families. During the process of treatments, negative reactions, whether they are visible, invisible, physical, or psychological, can bring great pain that is unspeakable to the patients and incomprehensive to outsiders. Only by the sharing and support between the patients and the member of the breast cancer support group can the patients feel less isolated, more able to face reality, and with the spirit of helping themselves by helping others, walk out of their own little dark corner and into the sunshine. The goal of the treatment of breast cancer is not only to prolong life but also to maintain quality of life, and therefore the role of the breast cancer support group is quite important to the lives of patients.
This research is conducted by questionnaires. There are two parts to this research. One is about the twenty-six cancer patient support groups: how they function, how they organize, how are they distributed geographically, where their funding comes from, where their limits lie and what their potentials are. The other is about Tainan phoenix support group: to study the medical treatment of the breast cancer patients, their everyday life, and their social support.
Since 1986, there has been more then twenty newly founded breast cancer patient support groups in Taiwan. These groups depend mostly on adjoining hospitals for their survival and support. In 1997, in order to enhance communications between different support groups, a social gathering called he Young Wife Club was founded by the Catholic medical foundation on-Tie. This gathering was held once a year, and made possible the creation of he Republic of China Cancer Patient Support Group on April 21st, 2002. It is aimed to combine the power and wisdom of all Taiwanese breast cancer support groups and let the best care and services reach even the furthest corner of Taiwan. According to the studies, many problems exist in the functioning of a support group. There are: low attendance rate, few volunteers, lack of motivation to participate in activities, and difficulties getting funds. Because the members are mostly of cancer patients themselves, it is all the more crucial to get outside help in order to function properly and keep the support group running for a long time. Especially since there is only a limited amount of funds available, the attention from the Administrative Department of the Government is badly needed in order to give the support groups proper funding and enable the support groups to run smoothly and with planning. Therefore the support groups should work hard to involve Government support and regulation.
The Tainan Phoenix cancer patient support group is founded in January 16th, 1999. It is one of the three inter-hospital groups in Taiwan and it has earned itself a reputation of being a successful organization which edits its own newsletters, trains its own volunteers, opens two-way communications in written forms, and sent representatives to attend the fourth Europa Donna meeting. What is unique about this group is that it provides breast exams on site and health educations, as well as hot lines, and offices with staffs on duty, to provide services anytime when they are needed. However, since staff members changed rapidly, and the funds were limited, the contents of the services were forced to change. Its members still hope to continue to provide counselling and emotional support for the patients and hope that people with love to spare would join them in order to ease the pain of the breast cancer patients. It would be a blessing to the patients, if the breast cancer support groups can last for a long time by the inspiration they get from other support groups.
In 1987, Taiwan ended the period of martial law, and civilian organizations were legalized. Many non-profit organizations were founded, among which were the patient support groups. The patients themselves constituted most of the memberships; therefore the services were geared toward relieving their illness. By watching how the other groups functioned, these support groups learned how to better themselves. Some aspects which need to be improved are: training doctors with specialization, spreading the medical information to the general public, establishing website and making the process of medical treatment transparent.
How to prevent and cure breast cancer is an urgent issue. Good prevention and treatment plans depend on excellent doctors, good communication between different Departments within the Government, wide spread knowledge about medical issues, easy-access information and transparent treatment processes. If the government and the people can cooperate and work hard together, our medical environment can improve and our patients can enjoy more human dignities.
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