Athens, 6 October 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Kapa3 \u2013 Cancer Guidance Centre<\/strong> participated in an event organised by the Greek Carers Network EPIONI<\/strong> to mark European Carers Day, held on Tuesday, 6 October 2026, at the European Parliament Liaison Office in Greece, Athens.<\/p>\n In their presentation entitled \u201cThe Caregiver as a Key Pillar of Support for Cancer Patients: The Greek Reality,\u201d<\/strong>Evangeli Bista<\/strong>, Co-founder of Kapa3, and Marilia Barka<\/strong>, Psychology student and Kapa3 volunteer, highlighted the multifaceted role of informal carers, the challenges they face and the importance of recognising their contribution to cancer care.<\/p>\n The presentation brought together scientific knowledge and practice-based evidence from Kapa3’s daily operations, highlighting the fact that effective support for people affected by cancer must extend beyond medical treatment.<\/p>\n Cancer care does not end at the hospital. It continues at home, at work, within the family and throughout everyday life.<\/strong><\/p>\n Behind many cancer journeys is someone who coordinates appointments, searches for reliable information, manages administrative procedures, organises transportation and provides emotional support.<\/p>\n Informal carers, often family members or people from the patient’s immediate social environment, frequently become the invisible coordinators of care.<\/p>\n Their contribution, however, comes with significant practical, social, financial and psychological demands.<\/p>\n Balancing employment with caregiving responsibilities, losing personal time, facing additional expenses and coping with uncertainty about the course of the disease can substantially affect carers’ quality of life.<\/p>\n These challenges do not necessarily disappear when treatment ends.<\/p>\n Recovery, rehabilitation, returning to everyday routines and adapting to changing family roles may create additional responsibilities and emotional pressures.<\/p>\n Supporting carers is not simply an additional social service. It is an essential component of continuity and quality of care.<\/strong><\/p>\n Kapa3’s everyday experience demonstrates the important role carers play in seeking information and support.<\/p>\n According to the organisation’s internal telephone activity records, 1,251 telephone contacts<\/strong> were recorded between 27 January and 30 July 2026<\/strong>.<\/p>\n These included 614 incoming<\/strong> and 637 outgoing contacts<\/strong>, with 184 incoming contacts initiated by carers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In addition, Kapa3’s service records for 2024\u20132025 indicate that 50.7% of first contacts were initiated by carers<\/strong>. Within the corresponding records, 89.1% of carers who contacted the organisation were first-degree relatives<\/strong>.<\/p>\n These figures describe activity recorded within Kapa3’s services. They should not be interpreted as nationally representative statistics on informal caregiving in Greece.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, they highlight an important reality: the first person seeking guidance is often not the patient, but someone supporting them.<\/p>\n Common requests concern administrative guidance, social rights and benefits, disability certification procedures, employment-related support and access to psychological services.<\/p>\n The challenge is not always a lack of information.<\/p>\n Information is often fragmented across multiple institutions, subject to changing procedures and difficult to translate into practical next steps.<\/p>\n Patients and carers need more than information. They need reliable guidance that helps them take action.<\/strong><\/p>\n Caregiver burden extends well beyond physical fatigue.<\/p>\n It may involve psychological distress, financial insecurity, changing family dynamics, social isolation and profound existential concerns.<\/p>\n Carers are often expected to remain available and resilient even while experiencing fear, sadness, uncertainty or exhaustion themselves.<\/p>\n Some may hesitate to express their needs, believing that all attention should remain focused on the person living with cancer.<\/p>\n Recognising caregiver distress and ensuring access to psychosocial care, counselling and practical assistance are therefore essential elements of comprehensive cancer support.<\/p>\n Caring for carers is part of caring for patients.<\/strong><\/p>\n At Kapa3, patient and social navigation involves much more than answering individual questions.<\/p>\n It is a structured process of identifying needs, recording and prioritising requests, exploring solutions, referring people to appropriate services and reviewing the support provided.<\/p>\n This approach seeks to connect patients and carers with healthcare services, social protection systems and relevant professionals.<\/p>\n Social work and interdisciplinary collaboration are particularly important in addressing practical, financial, administrative and psychological needs in a coordinated way.<\/p>\n Kapa3’s experience highlights that meaningful access to care depends not only on the availability of services, but also on people’s ability to understand, reach and effectively use them.<\/p>\n The presentation also introduced MYRTO \u2013 Kapa3’s AI-Supported Digital Social Navigator<\/strong>, designed to facilitate access to evidence-informed information on social rights, benefits and support services.<\/p>\n MYRTO is being developed in technological collaboration with SimasiaAI<\/strong>, with the valuable support of the TIMA Charitable Foundation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Using documented information sources, plain language and clarifying questions, the application aims to make complex information easier to access and understand.<\/p>\n Human oversight and referral to appropriate support professionals remain essential aspects of its approach.<\/p>\n According to an administrative dashboard snapshot dated 19 September 2026<\/strong>, MYRTO had recorded 2,220 sessions<\/strong>. This figure refers to application sessions, not necessarily to unique users or beneficiaries.<\/p>\n Topics raised through the application included healthcare benefits, medicines and treatment, disability certification, patient and caregiver rights, employment matters and social protection.<\/p>\n At Kapa3, the value of Artificial Intelligence lies in its ability to strengthen human support rather than replace it.<\/p>\n Technology can organise information. Human relationships make care possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n Supporting someone with cancer frequently affects carers’ professional lives.<\/p>\n Attending appointments, responding to unexpected needs and managing everyday responsibilities require time, flexibility and appropriate employment arrangements.<\/p>\n Accessible information on existing rights and leave entitlements, flexible working arrangements where applicable, return-to-work support and greater awareness among employers and human resources departments can help reduce the burden.<\/p>\n Recognising caregiving responsibilities and preventing workplace exclusion should be part of a broader approach to social protection and inclusive employment.<\/p>\n Kapa3’s presentation outlined five priorities:<\/p>\n These priorities reflect the need for a healthcare and social support system that recognises the interconnected needs of patients, survivors and carers.<\/p>\n Kapa3’s participation in the event organised by EPIONI provided another opportunity to highlight the needs of people who provide care every day, often without sufficient recognition or structured support.<\/p>\n Carers’ lived experiences, systematically documented service needs and scientific evidence can inform more responsive healthcare services and public policies.<\/p>\n For Kapa3, care must be understood as an ongoing process connecting people with reliable information, appropriate services, professionals and their communities.<\/p>\n No cancer journey without navigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n No digital innovation without human connection.<\/strong><\/p>\n Because care concerns not only the person living with cancer, but also those standing beside them.<\/strong><\/p>\n European Carers Day 2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Date:<\/strong> 6 October 2026 Event information:<\/strong> Kapa3 \u2013 Cancer Guidance Centre<\/strong> Explore MYRTO \u2013 Digital Social Navigator<\/strong>Informal Carers: The Invisible Coordinators of Cancer Care<\/h2>\n
What Kapa3’s Data Reveal<\/h2>\n
The Psychological Burden of Caregiving Is Not Always Visible<\/h2>\n
Patient Navigation: Connecting Needs with Support<\/h2>\n
MYRTO: Digital Innovation Strengthening Human Guidance<\/h2>\n
Employment and Caregiving: The Need for Institutional Recognition<\/h2>\n
Five Priorities for More Equitable Cancer Care<\/h2>\n
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From Recognition to Meaningful Support<\/h2>\n
\n<\/div>\nEvent Information<\/h2>\n
\nVenue:<\/strong> European Parliament Liaison Office in Greece, 8 Vasilissis Amalias Avenue, Athens
\nOrganiser:<\/strong> Greek Carers Network EPIONI<\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/epioni.gr\/\u03b5\u03ba\u03b4\u03ae\u03bb\u03c9\u03c3\u03b7-\u03b3\u03b9\u03b1-\u03c4\u03b7\u03bd-\u03b5\u03c5\u03c1\u03c9\u03c0\u03b1\u03ca\u03ba\u03ae-\u03b7\u03bc\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1-\u03c6\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/www.kapa3.gr\/<\/a><\/p>\n
\nhttps:\/\/kapa3-cag-rag-hybrid-deploy.onrender.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"