What Happened

The diagnosis of cancer affects around 500,000 people in Germany every year.  Along with the patients, their relatives are also affected by the disease.  In total, around 2.5 million people are exposed to cancer for the first time every year.

With the diagnosis of cancer, an abyss opens up for affected patients and their relatives with great physical and enormous emotional strain.  In addition to qualified medical therapy, early, sensitive and personal psycho-oncological support is of the utmost importance.  The positive effects of a psycho-oncological intervention according to "words help heal" have been scientifically proven and undisputed.

The Recommended Treatment

The association Projekt Schmetterling e.V. helps cancer patients and their relatives to deal with the psychological stress of the disease.  In Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate, we promote donations through charity campaigns and charity events, 100% of which flow into the psycho-oncological care of cancer patients and their relatives.  The financial resources of the association have been closing a gap in the health system since 2007 and have enabled many affected people to receive urgently needed psycho-oncological care, because the costs are usually not covered by the health insurance companies.  We finance outpatient and inpatient psycho-oncological care projects at the university clinics in Frankfurt am Main and Mainz, as well as at the Frankfurt cancer advice center of the Hessian Cancer Society and at the cancer advice centers at the Kassel Clinic and Bad Arolsen Hospital.  In addition, we educate the public about the importance and necessity of psycho-oncological care.