Israel Cancer Association - Annual Report 2024

Israel Cancer Association // Annual Report 2024

Managing the service is Information Specialist Jessica Bresler along with the Information Center team, aided by MSW Orit Spira , Director of the Rehabilitation and Support Department. Personalized Assistance Financial Aid – Personalized financial assistance is provided to patients dealing with significant psycho social difficulties and complex socio-economic situations resulting from cancer during the first year after diagnosis. This assistance is one-time only and is intended for complex and difficult social cases. Funding Counseling – Flexible assistance that can be adapted to the different needs of the patient, such as individual therapy, family therapy, parental training, or sexual counseling. The service is provided based on medical and financial criteria and only if there is no suitable service available through public service, HMOs, local authorities, private insurance, etc., and after exhausting the array of counseling and services provided by the ICA. The counseling package includes a series of up to 12 sessions with psychotherapists in the field of psycho-oncology – social workers, psychologists, sex therapists, and the like. ‘Teletmicha’®: Emotional First Response for Cancer Patients, Survivors, and Family Members The ICA’s Teletmicha® support hotline is supervised by MSW Orit Spira , the ICA’s Director of Rehabilitation and Support. Calls to Teletmicha® are routed to the social workers, and according to needs, to nursing, rehabilitation, and sexuality professionals. Live response is provided in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, and English.

solely stemming from the disease. Consultation is available on a volunteer basis and free of charge nationwide by a lawyer. About 60 consultation meetings were held during the year. Sexual Consultation for Cancer Patients and their Partners The Israel Cancer Association offers sexual consultation on body image, sexuality, intimacy and fertility for cancer patients and their partners, as well as singles – of all ages. The consultation includes information about the effects of cancer on sexuality and fertility, cancer treatment and sexual rehabilitation as well as referral to other professional experts. The service is provided by Lena Kurtz-Almog , ICA’s Sex Therapist, and RN Livia Kislev , ICA Head Nurse. Throughout the year, the ICA organizes seminars on sexuality and fertility, professional trainings and lectures for survivors as part of ‘Survivors towards a Healthy Life’® workshops. About 500 frontal, phone and online consultation meetings were held this year. Hotline for Cancer Patients' Healthcare Rights An ICA national service operating through the Public Information Department in collaboration with the Rehabilitation and Support Department. The service is designed to help cancer patients access their healthcare rights. The hotline team provides information and assistance on topics such as exercising rights under the National Health Insurance Law, the HMOs service basket, supplementary insurance plans and hospitals, as well as guidance on medication approvals, financial reimbursements, and more. This service, provided free of charge like ICA services, is open to all cancer patients in Israel and operates under the ICA Information Center.

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