kik - cancer counselling services in cologne
kik is an independent, outpatient psycho-social counseling centre that has 14 years of experience and sees itself at the interface of in-patient, rehabilitation and after-care services. Its staff supports cancer patients and their families without their own financial interest.
Experience shows that it is particularly important for those affected to get answers to a variety of issues and problem areas at one place and from one person. Thus, kik offers psychological support, clarifications when there is medical uncertainty (e.g. seeking second opinion), answers to social and legal questions (job, pension, severe disability, government support, etc.) as well as help with applications.
Many jobless and financially weak cancer patients find their way to kik. Counseling there is always for free.
Services and speciality
- Individual counseling by phone or face-to-face
- Home and hospital visits
- Support for focus groups: Women with cancer; women with breast cancer, women with ovarian and cervical cancer, men with cancer, family, colleagues and friends of cancer patients
- Service centre for self-help and open groups
- End-of-life-care
- A variety of courses offered (Relaxation training, back-to- work training, etc.)
- Library (books, videos, etc.)
- Support funds – non bureaucratic and fast financial support for those in need
- „kik for kids“ - Helping children of cancer patients
Kik for Kids In the past, the staff of kik has often been faced with the problematic impact of cancer on the whole family system. Apart from those directly suffering from cancer, it is often the children who suffer tremendously. They often ask: “Will Mummy/Daddy be well again? Does Mummy/Daddy have to die? Is it my fault? Is cancer infectious? How should I behave? Who will care for me / take me to bed when Mummy/Daddy is in hospital? If they are left alone with all those questions and concerns, it is likely that their mental and social development will be substantively disturbed.
Since the 1960s it is known epidemiologically that children of very ill parents are at risk of getting mentally ill. In order to come through those difficult times as well as possible, children need special attention and care. But often parents are unable to cope with that need. Kik has recognized that there is a call for action and initiated the first cancer counseling project for children in 2002: “kik for kids”.
The goal of the project is to support children and teenagers in a sudden and life threatening situation. By strengthening them, the whole family system can be stabilised and the parents concerned about their children can be relieved.
On the one hand, the services offered prevent of mental and physical damage and on the other it is an important pillar in the healing process of the cancer patients themselves.
Help Fund
Some people seeking advice lack the most simple things because of their critical financial situation. This kind of support is a tremendous relief for those in need and often a great source of joy. Kik finances support stockings, a track suit for the time in hospital, a train ticket to get to the rehabilitation clinic or sometimes even a visit to the cinema or a museum.
Executive Director: Karin Henkel
www.krebs-initiative-köln.de
