"On World Cancer Day, we celebrate achievements"

For Zaida Charepe, professor and researcher at the Institute of Health Sciences (ICS) "World Cancer Day is a day to celebrate achievements" and an opportunity to promote "a more humanistic culture that puts each person at the centre." An example of this is the +Hope project, which "consists in the development of an app with guidelines for caregivers and a storytelling resource for children with selected themes to promote hope" in cancer patients, explains Joana Rato, researcher at the Translational Neuroscience Platform at Católica.

"Children, after the diagnosis of cancer disease, are faced with an abrupt change of routine, in which they have to face uncomfortable interventions and treatments", that generate "fear, anxiety and revolt", explains Joana. The App + Hope seeks to respond to this: "the need for guidance for daily emotional management associated with the impact of treatments and/or clinical procedures to which children are subjected, since these areas tend to be neglected in the treatment protocols for children with cancer".

This innovation combines "guidelines both for caregivers, following the models already studied in the scope of the Therapy of Hope, and for the child with cancer disease, by providing videos in storytelling format focused on themes of overcoming, resilience to adversity, etc. The stories serve as a starting point for conversation and reflection, promoting tranquillity and well-being," adds researcher Zaida, member of the Nursing Research Platform of the Universidade Católica.

Designed for "children between 6 and 10 years old with cancer disease", the digital app "comes in the sequence of another wider project "Hope2Brain+"," says Joana. But it was the 13th edition of the Angelini University Award! 2021/22 with the theme "Managing the Collateral Damage of Pandemic Disease in People with Chronic Diseases" that boosted the project. "It gave us the impulse to design a resource to minimise the instability naturally experienced in the situation of illness, working on hope and resilience," she explains.

The research team highlights the importance of the involvement of Inês Tomás, student of the Master in Neuropsychology of the ICS, and Filipa Gonçalves, student of the Master in Nursing of the Nursing School of Católica, in the initiative. In Joana's opinion, it was "very enriching for the whole team. She adds, "It was very interesting to see how the speeches sometimes had different terms, but represented similar and even complementary ideas and ways of acting."

Working side by side for a more humane care of the child with cancer disease and their family, the team reached the semi-final of the competition. Something that, for the Católica research team, was a moment of "recognition" of the importance and usefulness of their idea. And "an incentive to continue", Joana stresses.

As for the future, Zaida reveals that the project will not stop here. "We will continue to work to obtain this tool that we understand to be a response to the needs of children with cancer disease and their parents", she promises.

However, for Joana, the fight against cancer is not only about science, but as she points out, "also about communicating science, bringing civil society closer to clarifying the disease".

"May this day serve to launch new discussions in the search for more solutions, especially, interdisciplinary." It is the wish of the ICS researcher. "And that hope be the link between science and the clinical approach, for fairer care," adds Zaida.