Natalia Vylku
According to Natalia Vulcu, chairwoman of the Public Association “Life without Leukemia”, children get cancer with constant regularity not only in Moldova, but all over the world.
“Our field of activity is quite specific, because many patients, having passed through this stage, simply do not want to go back to it and remember it. But we look at it from a scientific point of view, because it happens not only in Moldova, but all over the world. Children get cancer with constant regularity everywhere. Unfortunately, there will always be such cases. We cannot influence this process. If in the case of adult cancer we can talk about lifestyle, smoking, use of various substances and so on, in children these factors do not play a role,” Vulcu said at the third Patients’ Forum.
She spoke about the organization’s work with parents of sick children: “Here we are only talking about the need to detect the disease as early as possible and start treatment. Accordingly, we try to educate parents as well: so that they do not perceive the disease as a personal family problem; it is a disease that needs to be treated. And we need to unite and help those who will face it in the future. Unfortunately, we know for sure that there will be such cases”.
The forum talked about the importance of three-way cooperation: medical institution, family and organizations.
According to Natalia Vylku, in the process of European integration, there are ample opportunities to study the experience of European patient associations and to participate in modern mechanisms existing at the EU level.
It was mentioned at the forum that Moldova has a guide for assessing the level of satisfaction of patients and employees of the health care system. The emphasis is not only on the collection of opinions, but also on the improvement plan. The Ministry of Health is now at the stage of developing a National Patient Safety Plan for the period 2026-2030.
