ASSOCIATIONS FOR FIGHT AGAINST MALIGNANT ILLNESSES “NEW LIFE” 

Motivation for Happiness Again

The association for fight against malignant illnesses “New Life” from Shtip was founded in November 2000. Its basic objective is to create conditions for an organized performance and intensive social activity of all who are ill of malignant illnesses and also to follow and study the issues which need to be solved and are directly related to the promotion of the social-economic state of these people.

“When we founded the association”, says the president of “New Life” Violeta Eftimova, we considered that there was a missing link in the chain of treating malignant illnesses. We encouraged the people with malignant illnesses, gave positive examples even before, but it was informally. Most often they were some personal contacts between us and some of the ill people.Towards the end of 2000 we decided to give a form to our activity, so we founded “New Life”, adds Eftimova.

The volunteers in “New Life” were active enough in the area of the health education. They organized tribunes in cooperation with some expert medical people, not only in Shtip but in the neighboring municipalities, too. They have also prepared and distributed a leaflet “Cancer of the cervix”.
In the meantime “New Life” prepared and distributed seven more new leaflets which referred to breast cancer (Breasts self-control, You have found out the diagnosis -treatment in hospital, Radiotherapy – in cancer treatment, Help yourself during the chemotherapy, Practical advice, You are not alone – you and your marriage, and Come back to new life – you and your social environment), and Personal guide to monthly breasts self-control. The financial support for the leaflets and the guide was provided by Laura Pots, a member of the Peace Corpus from the USA.

A day before the anniversary of the founding meeting of New Life, on 7 November 2001, the Association opened the new Center for support of women with breast cancer.
“The Medical Center from Shtip obliged us and gave us the premises”, told us Eftimova, “we applied in the Open Society Institute – Macedonia and got some technical equipment, and we have recently signed the agreement for grant with the Macedonian Center for International Cooperation and that is going to provide training for our volunteers”.

The main objective of the Center is to fill in the space which lacks in the breast cancer treatment, that is, a psychic rehabilitation of the women, psychological help to the close family as well as accepting these women back by their social environment so that they could go back to their normal life. The volunteers in New Life answer the phone calls from 10-13 and from 16-19 every day.

“The local media were quite interested in what we are doing”, says the president of the association, “and thank to Kanal 77 the news about opening our center was spread out Shtip, too. We have already had some calls from interested women from Prilep and Delchevo, and there is a considerate number of ill people from our municipality who call or visit us. This is a big stimulus for us and also a confirmation for the need of what we are doing”, finished Violeta Eftimova, president of the Association for fight against malignant illnesses “New Life” from Shtip.

Gonce Jakovleska