All children should have the opportunity to enjoy a vacation that offers possibilities of relationship with their peers. That is why the Spanish association against cancer (aecc) has organized some Summer colonies aimed at children and young people from all over Spain between 7 and 15 years old who have suffered the oncological disease.
From tomorrow, day 15 to July 22, 110 children will be part of the 13th edition of the free summer colonies of the aecc focused on improving the quality of life of children with cancer and their families, promoting emotional expression and self-help between equals, improve their self-esteem, contribute to making them more autonomous and independent, learn to live differences as something unique and enriching and promote healthy living habits. The purpose of this initiative is to work in the normalization of the situation of these young people doing all kinds of leisure and free time activities. It is a very positive experience since they meet other young people in the same situation, outside the hospital environment, and share experiences and experiences related to the disease, difficult for others to understand.
To achieve its objective, the association has monitors, pediatricians, nurses, volunteers of the aecc and a psycho-oncologist, in addition to the director of colonies and the project coordinator.
Childhood cancer is the leading cause of death from illness in the smallest within developed countries. In Spain, between 1,000 and 1,100 new cases are detected per year in children aged 0 to 14 years and, statistically, the childhood tumor accounts for between 0.5% and 1% of total neoplasms. The overall incidence rate of childhood cancer in Spain is 155 cases per million children. The good news is that since the 80's, mortality has decreased by 50% and that the survival rate currently reaches almost 100% in some tumors such as Retinoblastomas and Hodgkin's Lymphomas
Young people from all over the country can enjoy, for free, some colonies set in different film themes and with activities such as rafting, swimming pool, theater, painting, musical evenings, horse riding, mountain excursions, gymkhanas, etc., in the town of Salardu in the Vall d'Aran in the province of Lleida.
The aecc also carries out four more camps in Barcelona, Valencia, Córdoba and Tenerife. The first one is aimed at siblings of children with cancer so they can share experience and, through psychoeducational workshops, have the opportunity to express and share their emotions. In Valencia, camps are also held for cancer survivors as well as in Tenerife, Córdoba and Lleida.
The aecc also develops activities related to cancer research in childhood cancer, and support and support programs for children with cancer and their families.
