Halasartan () or Stop Cancer is an Israeli non-governmental organization that primarily works on a voluntary basis to provide relief and support for young oncology patients. According to the European Society for Medical Oncology, the organization serves young patients with cancer among the ages 18–45 years, through its large-scale operations. The NGO targets mostly patients with breast cancer, genitourinary, haematological malignancies, melanoma, lymphoma, colorectal cancer, and leukaemia, among others. The community offered by the program enables patients to alleviate their 'sense of seclusion’ and reduce anxiety.’ The organization's goals are two-sided: first, to characterize the user profile of young patients with cancer, their goals and unmet needs; secondly, "to influence the attitudes of official state institutions." External surveys show that patients consider the network not only as a reliable source for medical information, but also for patient mentoring of newly diagnosed members by cancer survivors.
History
In 2016, Zohar Yakobson, founder of the Israeli Tal Center for Integrative Oncology, joined hands with Shira Segal Kuperman, to establish an appropriate "solution or response for young people with cancer." According to Yakobson, there was "a framework for children and a framework for adults – but what about someone who is at the height of their life, studying, [...] and suddenly thrust into a hospital with no framework for people of that age."
The new venture was named Halasartan (also transcribed as HalaSartan), derived from the or "stop" and the or "cancer." The target patients were mostly served via social media, due to their age and their easy access to digital media and online materials.
Soon after its establishment its digital community reached over 25,000 participants. The NGO, supported by Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD), assisted young cancer patients in dating and social interactions. The community focused on "starting conversations that can be difficult or uncomfortable, trying to remove the element of embarrassment" associated with cancer.
Later, Halasartan also began approaching community members who have survived cancer, asking them to become mentors for recently diagnosed young cancer patients. As a result of internal surveys conducted by members of the Halasartan community, the need arose to create a meeting between new patients and members of the community who are cancer survivors, which led to the creation of the in-person, face-to-face programs.
Onsite programs
After the success of their digital community, and after studying the various unmet needs and unique challenges of young cancer patients, Halasartan established dedicated clinics in hospitals with large oncological centers for young adults. This included the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, with a dedicated staff, including cancer survivors offering mentoring and support to new patients. The role of these Halasartan community cancer-survivors was to assist new patients with using the digital tools provided by the program. The tools were customized to provide most benefit for patients' individual needs.
In addition to mentoring, the in-person clinics also aimed at identifying barriers to counseling across the hospital units and services. Multidisciplinary in nature, the clinics offered patients assistance with emotional distress surrounding the illness, addressing issues like fertility preservation, hormonal effects and early menopause, sexual functioning, and rehabilitation, as well as psychosocial needs like coping with young parenthood, new relationships, loneliness, and returning to work. Unlike other oncological departments serving cancer patients of all ages, the young adults' clinic programs began focusing on "preserving fertility, offering guidance and making these issues a priority." Fertility had been found to be a subject of high importance for young, especially female, cancer patients.