The new Oncology Unit of the General University Hospital of Atticon was inaugurated, which was built thanks to the donation of Mr. Athanasios Martinos’ Urban Nonprofit Society.

This is the first oncology unit housed in an independent building in a public hospital in Greece, marking a significant step upgrade of the public health system.

The new unit covers 1,097 square meters, has 31 treatment seats – from just 8 that existed before – and is estimated to serve more than 20,000 patients a year. It is a 41% increase compared to 2019, turning Attica into a comprehensive and state -of -the -art oncology center.

Unit director, Professor of Oncology Amanda Psirri, thanked the donor, stressing that “Mr. Martin’s generosity made a vision that seemed distant for years.”

“The creation of an Oncology Center with international standards and a look at the needs of the future reflects the grandeur of his soul. Patients and their families will now have access to the care they deserve – here, in their place, “he said.

Her speech in detail

Honorable Mr. Prime Minister,
Representative of His Beatitude Archbishop of Athens and All Greece, Metropolitan of Nicaea, Mr. Alexie
Honorable Mrs. Marina Martinou and Mr Athanasie Martinen Honorable Doctor of Medicine and Great Benefactor of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.
Honorable Minister of Health, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis
Honorable Minister of Education, Religions and Sports, Mrs. Sofia Zacharakis
Honorable if. Minister of Health, Mrs. Irene Agapidakis
Honorable Deputy Minister of Education, Religions and Sports, Professor Nikolae Papaioannou
Honorable Deputy Minister of Education, Religions and Sports, Mr. Constantine Vlasi
Honorable Ladies and Main General and Secretaries -General
Honorable Commander of the General University Hospital “ATTICON” Mr. Spyridon Apostolopoulos
Honorable Commander of the General Laikon Mr. Theophanes Rhodes
Honorable Managing Director of the Eugenide Center Mrs. Efthimia Bassra
Dear Vice President of the Board of Directors, Professor Nikolae Thomaidis
Valuable members of the Board of Directors of the NCSR
Honorable gentlemen you vice versa
Honorable Dean of the School of Health Sciences, Professor Pagona Lagou
Honorable Dean of the Theological School, Professor Emmanouil Karageorgoudi.
Honorable President of the Medical School, Professor Nicolae Arkadopoulos.
Honorable members of the Senate
Ladies and gentlemen

Good morning you,

Today we are not just inaugurating a new building: we are launching a new chapter of hope, knowledge and humanity.

This new Oncology Center is not just a place of healing – it is a place where science meets hope and every human being will be able to find power and care with respect for human dignity.

When I returned to Greece, after ten years of post -education at the University of Yale in the United States, where I completed my specialty and served as a teacher, I had a primary purpose: to offer the Greek patient the best I had learned and learned.

To bring back not only the knowledge, but also the spirit of cooperation, faith and excellence that characterizes the international medical community.
I often recall the words of a beloved teacher from those years:

“You can succeed wherever you are, as long as you believe in it.”
This phrase has always accompanied me – and today, seeing this center come true, I feel more true than ever.
I would like to express our deep gratitude to our excellent donor, Mr. Athanasios Martin, whose generosity has come true a vision that seemed distant for years.

The enthusiastic acceptance of our request from the first moment, its constant presence and its wholehearted support at all stages of this course, from arrest to the completion of the project, is more than moving. The creation of an Oncology Center with international standards and a look at the needs of the future reflects the grandeur of his soul. Thanks to you, Mr Martinos, thousands of patients and families will have access to the care they deserve – here, in their place. Your generous contribution fills us with a sense of responsibility: to meet your expectations and to achieve the most – at the scientific and human level.

The Second Educational Pathology Clinic of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (2nd FC) is the largest pathological clinic in the country.
It consists of a team of select clinics, researchers, trainers and nursing staff, and belongs to one of the most distinguished Medical Schools internationally – the University of Athens Medical School.

In addition to the pathological, the 2nd FCP includes special hematology units, bone marrow transplantation, endocrinology, nephrology, oncology and diabetic center.

Since 2003, under the direction of the late Professor Sotirios Rapti, the clinic has been transferred from “Evangelism” to Atticon University Hospital, where it continues to evolve under the succession of the Professors Theofanis Economopoulos. I took over the clinic in 2022.
Today’s donation opens new horizons to strengthen our oncology unit.

The distinctions of our scientific team are already extremely important: we have received European certification in supporting care An international discrimination of our quality and anthropocentric approach.

We are also the first center in Greece with survivorship clinic, providing comprehensive care and support to people from the time of diagnosis throughout their illness to healing.

At the same time, we have created the first Oncology Council Personalized Medicine in the country, where interdisciplinary team determines personalized treatments based on the separate molecular identity of each patient’s volume, thus bringing precision medicine to daily clinical practice.

This center, however, is also the beginning of new international partnerships.

We are in the process of European certification as an integrated Cancer Center for Lung Cancer – a distinction that will place our country on the world map of oncological excellence.

We are already in twinning with Northwestern University in Chicago, under the direction of Professor Leonidas Platanias, at an educational, research and clinical level.

Together, we will bring that the most innovative of world medicine in every patient who passes this door and train tomorrow’s ecologists.

As you know, certification of a comprehensive Cancer Center is not just about clinical excellence • requires innovative research.

Our center is at the forefront of research with international collaborations, innovative clinical trials and application of cutting -edge technologies.

The contribution of the donation to the training of students and new doctors of the NCSR is also invaluable.

Cancer is already the first cause of death worldwide and it is projected to take epidemic dimensions in the coming decades.

We must therefore be ready as a country – to train new doctors focusing on the prevention, diagnosis and complete treatment of cancer.

I would like to thank our excellent donor Athanasios Martin for making our vision a reality.

I would also like to express my warmest thanks to the Rector of the University of Athens, Mr. Gerasimos Siasso, for his vision and his belief in a large, open and extrovert university, combining academic excellence and social contribution.

Mr. Siasos warmly supported our vision from the first moment, from the position of then Vice President of the Medical School, and continues to enthusiastically support the creation of a Comprehensive Cancer Center of the NCSR, with a research and educational work that will classify our country at the forefront of international developments.

Warm thanks, I am also addressing the Prime Minister of the country, Mr. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, to the Minister of Health, Mr. Adonis Georgiadis, to the Minister of Education, Mrs Sofia Zacharakis, to the Deputy Minister of Health, Mr. NSS, who will staff the center.

Investing in health people is the most essential investment in the future.
Still, a big thank you to the Governor of the PGN. Atticon, for his full support and support at all stages of project implementation.

Digitization of health is extremely important for promoting research in oncology and the possibility of funding from European programs.

Our center is actively involved in the Greek collaborative oncology team, awarded by the Academy of Athens, which is internationally excellent in clinical and translational research in cancer. The establishment of a National Bank of Bank and the digitization of all histological tiles will be a vital project for precision medicine and biomedical research by utilizing artificial intelligence tools.

It would be a mistake not to thank my valuable partners – nurses, faculty members, scientific partners and specialists – who with love for the patient and dedication to science give their best daily.

I wouldn’t have arrived here without you.

And, finally, a big and heartfelt thank you to my family-to my husband, professor and former Vice-Rector Dimitris Tousoulis, and to our son Michael-Marios-for their love, patience and support over the years.

On behalf of all – of doctors, nurses, researchers, patients and their families – thank you, Mr. Martin, for your trust, support and vision.