Lenneke Schrier, Pediatric oncologist at Princess Máxima Center, shared on LinkedIn:
“Stronger together: new partnership with leading pediatric oncology centers in Bulgaria
We are very happy to join forces with two of Bulgaria’s leading pediatric oncology centers, Tsaritsa Yoanna – ISUL in Sofia and UMHAT Sveti Georgi in Plovdiv.
In Bulgaria, 120-150 children are diagnosed with cancer each year. Together, these two hospitals treat approximately 80% of them.
International collaboration is essential to achieve our ultimate goal: to cure every child with cancer, with optimal quality of life. This new alliance lays the foundation for joint initiatives to elevate care, specialized training, and research across Bulgaria and the Netherlands.
During our recent visit to Sofia and Plovdiv, we had the opportunity to meet the dedicated teams led by Dr. Boryana Avramova at Tsaritsa Yoanna – ISUL and Prof. Dr. Mariya Spasova at UMHAT Sveti Georgi, see their work first hand, and explore how we can build a meaningful collaboration together. Special attention was dedicated to the essential role of nursing care. During our visit, we witnessed a very strong commitment among our colleagues to provide the highest quality of care for children with cancer, despite the staff shortages and fragmented care they currently face.
Together, we will focus on:
- Advancing diagnostics, treatment protocols, and comprehensive patient-centric care.
- Exchanging clinical expertise on highly complex cases.
- Advancing nursing care.
- Training for doctors, diagnostic specialists, nurses and researchers.
- Supporting Bulgarian participation in international clinical trials.
- Developing specialized data registries to support data-driven research and follow-up.
We are very grateful for the support of Executive Director Prof. dr. Karen Dzhambazov, Head of the Pediatric Clinic Assoc. Prof. Ivan Yankov, Director Penev, Health Minister Katya Ivkova, Head of the National Health Insurance Fund Dr. Vladimir Daskalov, rector of the Medical University of Sofia Prof. Boycho Landzhov, and head of the Bulgarian National Hub of the EU Mission on Cancer Ivaylo Petrov.
By combining our knowledge and expertise – and keeping children and their families at the center of everything we do – we are working together for better access to care and research for all children with cancer.
Visit together with prof. dr. Rob Pieters, Jessica Singh and Bianca van Rossum – Stolwijk.”
Other articles about Lenneke Schrier on OncoDaily.
