Polish attitudes toward cancer

Cancer Support

15 Mar 2012 / #1

Hello,

I work at a cancer support and infoamtion service based in Leeds.

We help people with cancer (and their families) by providing emotional support such as counselling and support groups,
We also provide complementary therpaies to help with stress and anxiety during treatment for cancer.

In Leeds, we have a large polish community although we have very few polish service users.

Apart from any potential language barriers, I wondered if anyone had any thoughts on why this might be?

Are there any cultural barriers?

What are peoples thoughts about talking about cancer within the community?

Thanks very much for any comments or advice.

Many Thanks

Tom

Wroclaw Boy

15 Mar 2012 / #2

In Leeds, we have a large polish community although we have very few polish service users.

I would imagine that once a Polish person is diagnosed with cancer they would catch the first flight back home.

jon357 73 | 22992

22 Dec 2015 / #3

Merged:

Cancer boy found in Poland

At least he's being brought back. Apparently the parents preferred "Chinese medicine".,,

A missing 10-year-old boy with cancer in his jaw who needs urgent surgery has been traced to Poland and could be back in the UK by Christmas, a family court has heard.

Specialists had told Mr Justice Mostyn that the boy would die a "brutal and agonising death" within six months to a year if a tumour was not removed very soon. And concerns were raised in October when Mostyn heard that the boy, who is Polish but cannot be identified, had disappeared.

theguardian

Chemikiem

22 Dec 2015 / #4

I was reading about this last night in a BBC news article.
To a degree I can understand the parents wanting a second opinion, especially if they are living outside their home country, but Chinese medicine? Seriously?

Hopefully he will be back soon and gets the surgery he urgently needs.

Tictactoe

22 Dec 2015 / #5

Didn't the same thing happen with the kid who had the brain tumor and his parents endeed up being wanted.

I believe he got treated in eastern Europe, I think.

Chinese medicine won't help though, eat this crushed Lion bone and you will have the strength of a Lion.......errrr yeah OK.

terri 1 | 1661

22 Dec 2015 / #6

If my memory serves me right -
Yes, the same thing happened with a boy - I think they took the boy abroad, because they no longer believed in 'traditional' medicine (the hospital told them there is no chance of him living and they should just let him die). Luckily the boy got better with the 'unconventional' treatment.

Charges against the parents (for taking an ill boy out of hospital) were dropped.