Health

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One of the services offered by the American Cancer Society through its Relay for Life initiative is cancer advocacy. Among the targeted people include the cancer patients and those people who wish to get screened for cancer. Advocacy entails guiding the patients through all stages of the disease that include screening, diagnosis, treatment and follow-up on a medical condition to which on this case refers to cancer. People reaching the events are significantly sensitized to make sure that they are aware of their status through screening if they have not done it previously.

Apart from screening, the patients to whom have previously been diagnosed with cancer are treated in consideration of the different stages of cancer development. Follow up activities are also conducted to ensure that the patients’ health is prioritized through regular checking off the health conditions of the patients. Support groups are also instituted during these events to make sure that the people around have at least made an impact on the patients through showing them love and companion. The presence of these support groups makes the cancer patients attain and improve their self-confidence and self-worth. Also, the presence of the support groups and the regular follow-ups makes the patients feel as being part of the population and this minimizes the impact of the condition as they are not stressed.

The organization of these events reduces the stigma as the participants of the events are made aware of the dangers of stigmatization, and therefore they will learn to accept the cancer patients as part of the community. During these events, advocacy is also ensured in the nutrition sector whereby the participants and the patients are also advised of the kind of diets to rely on and to which they should avoid. Proper dieting reduces the risk of cancer, and therefore the role of advocacy is to create awareness regarding the epidemiology of cancer as well as the risk factors involved. By the end of each event, every participant benefits according to their status, whether health or a cancer patient.