Eskişehir Blood and Cancer Disease Association

ESKANDER is a non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Eskişehir. The association was founded on February 13, 2025, in Eskişehir by pediatric hematology and oncology specialists, service nurses, and families of children who had undergone cancer treatment. The chair of the board is Prof. Dr. Zeynep Canan Özdemir, a faculty member in the Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at Eskişehir Osmangazi University Faculty of Medicine. Currently, the association has more than 130 members. The association carries out activities related to childhood cancers and blood diseases for children aged 0–18. The main diseases it focuses on include thalassemia, sickle cell anemia, factor deficiency (hemophilia), bone marrow failures, leukemia, lymphoma, as well as kidney and adrenal gland cancers. In addition to supporting these children, one of the association’s primary goals is to establish networks of support and solidarity for their families. The core mission of ESKANDER is to maximize treatment conditions for children with cancer and blood diseases and to help families go through these challenging processes with minimal harm. To this end, the association runs projects to facilitate patients’ access to treatment and to provide voluntary support in hospitals. It also organizes activities aimed at informing families, offering moral support, and raising public awareness, thereby strengthening social solidarity. Acting with the principle of “stronger together,” the association is committed to increasing awareness of childhood cancer in society as a whole. In line with this goal, it is open to cooperation in all kinds of social contexts (educational institutions, healthcare organizations, local media, etc.).