Milan. Facing a new daily routine and consistently adhering to therapies are aspects that put a strain on anyone affected by a pathology.
Physical and psychological fatigue can make the treatment process difficult for both patients and caregivers. The need to offer them an important starting point for rehabilitation gave rise to the two projects that AIL Brescia launched last Friday.
The initiatives promoted are aimed at adults and children with onco-hematological disease in treatment or follow-up and propose sailing therapy activities. sAIL Camp and Progetto Itaca, these are the names of the programs, will lead hundreds of patients throughout Italy to rediscover the beauty of life and the importance of being immersed in nature with days spent on a sailing boat on the largest lakes in our country.
On board there will also be expert skippers who will guarantee a completely safe experience and a multidisciplinary medical team made up of clinicians, psychologists and nutritionists with whom you can interact in an environment that is decidedly different from the medical clinic.
“Patients experience the wonderful sensation of sailing and symbolically taking back the helm of their own lives, given that, with the help of the skippers, they are also put at the helm of the vessel,” explained Dr. Giuseppe Navoni, president of AIL Brescia, during the launch day of the projects.
“Furthermore, there is a reversal of roles: if in the hospital the patients are subject to the commands of doctors and nurses, on the boat they are the ones who give orders to the team, which therefore acts as a crew.
This creates a climate that gives patients confidence, hope and a desire to live; all of these elements contribute to psychological well-being and better adherence to the therapeutic path, because we are reminded how important it is to feel good in order to fully enjoy days like the ones we promote".
The initiatives will start on May 24th and will continue until the beginning of September. Progetto Itaca will take patients for one-day trips to lakes such as Garda, Como, Iseo and Lugano, while sAIL Camp includes the organization of five weekends with overnight stays outside.
In particular, the first weekend will be dedicated to caregivers. “We made this choice because we know that the suffering they feel and the psychological burden they carry are equal to those of the sick,” Dr. Navoni emphasized. “Dedicating a larger space to these people serves to remind them of the importance of taking care of themselves as well.
In recent years, there has been an increase in attention towards caregivers and this has led to the decision to organize a weekend just for them”.
The initiatives are completely free for patients, while participating family members are asked for a small financial contribution. In addition to the activities strictly related to how to handle a sailboat, sAIL Camp and Progetto Itaca also include moments of trekking and nutritional education because, as Dr. Navoni pointed out, “prevention involves a healthy and correct diet”.
The choice of sailing as a sport to propose to patients originates from the fact that it is an activity that can be practiced by everyone, regardless of age, and therefore does not involve differences for adults and children.
The past editions of the two projects have received the applause of those who have joined, so much so as to push AIL Brescia to repeat the initiatives not only for this year, but also for the next ones.
“We have had extraordinary results,” said Dr. Navoni. “In moments like these, people no longer think about chemotherapy sessions or check-ups, but only about the fact that there are spaces to enjoy life.” The psychological impact is therefore significant.
"We have seen a clear improvement in the quality of life and an increase in the desire to live. The fear and thought of death decreases, self-confidence increases. It is very important that the patient is psychologically able to react, because depression favors the progression of the disease and we must fight it with every means at our disposal", added Dr. Navoni.
“The attention of the institutions has also increased on this aspect: the Minister for Disabilities, Alessandra Locatelli, has decided that the Itaca Project will also enter into a study with pathologies other than onco-hematological ones through velatherapy. A data collection will therefore be financed in order to give greater substance to the information we have collected over the years”.
Through the boat trips, patients and caregivers will have a special opportunity to start returning to a new normality and they will do so in a context that will favor the entry into relationship with themselves and with their own experiences also thanks to the comparison with others.
“The return to life of these patients is fundamental for us,” concluded Dr. Navoni. “The Itaca Project, in particular, represents the journey of Ulysses, who wandered for ten years before returning home.
Like him, onco-hematological patients also face a long course of therapy and returning home, to Itaca, is important. Thanks to increasingly effective innovative therapies and the psychological support guaranteed by projects like this and sAIL Camp, we help them take back control of their lives”.
The idea of taking patients sailing is very interesting, but I hope there is enough safety during the boat activities. It is essential that everyone can participate without fear or anxiety, especially the most fragile.