Adeje Town Hall is marking World Cancer Day, which is on Sunday, February 4th, the main aims being making visible and supporting all those affected by cancer. On the nights of the 3rd and 4th February, the façade of the Town Hall and the Plaza de España will be lit in green, and a commemorative banner will be hung to mark the day.
The Adeje health councillor, Esther Rivero Vargas, says that "all the services the council provides are to assist and benefit those affected by cancer and their families, so that they have the support and advice they need when they need it. The council is committed to continuing to support these services, because experience and years of work have shown that it is essential to have these resources and more here in South Tenerife".
The AECC (the Spanish cancer association), with Adeje council, will have an information table by the steps of the Adeje Convent to raise awareness of this disease. The council will also be working to make sure everyone is aware of the services available to them in the municipality. Another of the actions of the information table will be to raise funds to promote research and services aimed at improving the quality of life of people with cancer and their families. In addition, green ribbons will be handed out to those who wish to wear them (the green ribbon represents hope, as a symbol of struggle and unity in the face of cancer).
From 11am on the same Monday, in the Plaza de España, there will be a reading of a manifesto highlighting the importance of this world day, then a giant human ‘green ribbon’ will be formed by volunteers from the AECC, the Walk for Life foundation and 5th class students from the local primary school.
Adeje Town Hall and the AECC have joined forces to promote a campaign to raise awareness and prevent smoking among Adeje’s younger residents, given that smoking is the leading cause of death from cancer in Spain and globally. The campaign will also expose the dangers of vaping and detail the health risks associated with their use. These activities will be carried out in schools, with 3rd and 4th year secondary school students in both of Adeje’s secondary schools during February and March of this year.
Adeje Town Council also continues to be committed to improving the quality of life of people affected by cancer, through collaboration agreements with the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the Canary Islands Race for Life Foundation.
Spanish Association Against Cancer in Adeje
AECC provides a comprehensive care service for people with cancer and their families. It is a regional resource that attends to people affected in Adeje and the Southern Region of Tenerife. Its aim is to "attend to the psychological, social and physical needs" of people suffering from cancer who are not being attended to by public health resources. Their Adeje offices are in the Department of Health building (beside the main post office) C/ Tinerfe el Grande, 32, first floor. .
During 2023 the association was involved in 215 cases of psychological intervention, 434 cases of social assistance and 130 cases of physiotherapeutic treatment allocation. Furthermore 626 people have benefited from grants. These figures correspond to users from Adeje and other municipalities in the southern area of Tenerife.
There is also a free transport service managed by the AECC which allows oncology patients from the south of Tenerife to travel for free to the Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria Hospital Centre for treatments and appointments.
For more information about these resources, call 900 112 061 (AECC's free phone number). Also, those interested can get advice at the headquarters of the organisation, located in the department of health building (between the Plaza Pedro Zerolo and the post office ), floor nº 1, in Calle Tinerfe el Grande, Adeje.
Walk for Life foundation
The Walk for Life foundation is a social solidarity initiative with two main objectives: to raise funds to promote research projects seeking a cure for breast cancer, and to develop programmes aimed at improving the quality of life of those affected. The Foundation's activities and services include important projects such as the BRA Project, which provides personalised, therapeutic bras for patients who have undergone mastectomy; the LINFA Project, which purchases lymphatic sleeves for people with lymphoedema; and the Goodbag scheme, which provides free bags to carry drainage comfortably and safely for people who have undergone breast cancer surgery.
Another initiative is areolas solidarias, financing micropigmentation for breasts after a mastectomy. The foundation also contributes financially to the development of research studies, for example, with the FERO Hospital CLINIC Barcelona, the Clínica Universitaria de Navarra in Madrid, with the CONTIGO Foundation, and with the INVI Association.
The foundation also collaborates with the AECC, sharing some of the cost of the free transport service mentioned above.
The Walk for Life HQ is in the Pink Room, in the Adeje Centro de Participación Ciudadana y Convivencia, C/ Beneharo, Las Nieves, Adeje,
