A special workshop for psychologists, rehabilitation experts and other staff of regional clinics that treat patients with hematologic and oncologic diseases will be taking pace in Chelyabinsk on October 31 to November 2, 2006. The workshop will be devoted to psychological assistance to children diagnosed with hematologic and oncologic diseases and their parents shortly after the problem has been revealed.

The workshop is conducted by the Children of Russia Fund, Chelyabinsk Region hemato-oncologic children’s center, Chelyabinsk State Medical Academy, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Healthcare and Social Welfare, Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Welfare, UNESCO, Federal Clinical Research Center, and regional ministries of healthcare and social development.

The workshop is sponsored by UNICEF, Pfizer, and Magnesite Industrial Complex and Magnesite Group, refractory goods makers.

This seminar is part of the program of Children of Russia Fund aimed at creating the national rehabilitation service. The main objective of the workshop is to teach the doctors to actually support and help children in critical conditions and their parents. This seminar is important in terms of setting up a special team that will discuss and design the rehabilitation standards that will become the obligatory manual for those helping children.

The event will be facilitated and conducted by the doctors with degrees, professors of psychology, and children’s doctors from Washington, DC, Pittsburg, and Bonn. The German and American experts have a lot of experience in discussing disease, amputation and possible death with children and their parents.

Besides, the workshop will be attended by the Russian experts: G. Tseitlin from the Federal Clinical Research Center, E. Polevichenko from Rostov State Medical Academy, E. Zhukovksaya, the main children’s cancer specialist in Chelyabinsk Region, A. Oberderfer from the regional hemato-oncologic children’s center, V. Ragozinskaya from Chelyabinsk State University, R. Galipova (chair of local movement aimed at helping children diagnosed with cancer), and other doctors and experts from Chelyabinsk, Yekaterinburg, Perm, and Ufa.