Interview with Dr. Gabrijela Sopta Primorac from Croatia
Dr. Gabrijela Sopta Primorac from Croatia organized her country’s first-ever World Gynecologic Oncology Day last year, so we were very excited to catch up with her over Instagram Live and talk about how she did it (at short notice, too!) and what advice she has for other health care professionals who would like to try their hand at organizing their own event! Read below for an excerpt from the conversation (edited for length & clarity) or watch the full interview (and all our other interviews!) in the Reels section of the @worldgoday Instagram profile.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
Let’s talk about the situation in Croatia for gynecological cancer patients. What are some of the challenges that they face?
Dr Gabrijela
Well, the main challenge that I would point out is the centralization. We are a small country, and I think every country has the problem with the centralization, but in small countries we have to do it on a national level. Oncologists are really working hard.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
Which of these centers did you involve in your event last year?
Dr Gabrijela
Last we organized it only in our clinic but this year, we will spread the word throughout all Croatia!
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
So you have really expanded from last year?
Dr Gabrijela
There are many doctors interested in organizing World GO Day. So I'm really happy about it. It means that last year our event was very successful.
Last year we didn't have much time. But if you have a will, you can do whatever you want!
When I started to organize it, I didn't know the effect that our event would have. It’s a very good thing for all the doctors doing gynecology or oncology, especially maybe doctors that are in gynecology oncology training. You learn a lot about your patients. You learn a lot about gynecology oncology. You learn a lot about yourself.
Because last year the main topics were awareness, prevention and stigmatization, we organized a panel and in which the panelists were three doctors (gynecology, oncologist, nurse) and three patients.
We had general public for attendees, and we wanted to inform them, and also to send a message through the media—through the social media and our local media—to tell our gynecologic cancer survivors that they're not alone. We know what their problems are, and we want to help.
I wanted to involve the public, because if we inform the public very well, then the stigmatization is decreasing.
Why? Because everybody should know, what are our cancer survivors going through and why the patients do not come to some examination or something like that. And if we have, for example, something like post-menopausal bleeding, and women think, “Maybe it's nothing really important. maybe I don't have to go to examination.” Well, if we inform her better, she will know “I have to go to examination because I have a vaginal bleeding. I have to go to check up if everything's okay.”
The public has to know, because also healthy women, can help their friends, their mothers, their sisters and so on.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
That's great!
Dr Gabrijela
That was the main event. But we also started early in the morning with all the doctors. We put on tee shirts with the World GO Day logo. We printed out informative letters on every floor in the gynecology department, and there are five floors, and we informed the patients about the event.
And then we went for our morning visit, and we gave every patient that was hospitalized and at the clinic at the moment, at that time, some little gift of appreciation. You know, we had some donations and we gave them creams, the vitamins, or something like that, for them to feel appreciated.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
That is really nice. I didn't know that detail before. Can you give us some hints as to what you have planned for this year?
Dr Gabrijela
For this year, I planned to spread the organization through other cities, and I already, already got in touch with some patient advocacy groups and the doctors, the doctors are really interested. There will be six hospitals involved.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
That’s wonderful. There’s no end of things that you can do to raise awareness, show appreciation, and I think it's also a team building event for the people in your institution.
Dr Gabrijela
It is really a team building. It is also a nice thing for residents, because I involve them. And Dr Pavlinovic is our resident that was really, active, and she helped a lot.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
What advice would you give to somebody if they wanted to start up an event in their community or their hospital?
Dr Gabrijela
In the beginning don’t think a lot! Just go through it, because this kind of event brings a lot to your community, to your hospital, and you can really make a difference with it.
It’s important for your patients to know that you are with them, that you understand the problems they are going through, that you can advise them properly.
My proposals are that first, you have to inform your boss about it, all the advantages that this kind of event will bring to the hospital and the patients.
Also, you have to have good residents that will help you make tee shirts with World GO Day logos and then make a good connection with some patient advocacy group and see what their proposals for some events are.
This kind of event (a panel) was great for my community, maybe not for others, but for from my point of view, this kind of event can always be a good choice, because you to take doctors, you take your patients and then you inform the public through the local media and so on. And you have to follow the rules of the hospital and their PR department, that that's very important,
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
Every institution is going to have their own requirements.
Dr Gabrijela
And after that, then you inform the whole department, the nurses, the doctors, and you organize.
And then you're starting to organize the event on social media.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
The World Gynecologic Oncology Day activities that you do might already fit within some already planned outreach that you have for the community, right? So it's important to talk to the institution that you're working for if you want to start your own event there and see if maybe you could bring two things together.
I really love the sort of startup attitude that you have for this!
Dr Gabrijela
I'm really happy that I did it!
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
You said that cancer survivors will feel safer after these awareness events. And I think that's so nice.
Dr Gabrijela
The main problem sometimes is miscommunication. So I think for the public and for our women, the most important thing is to inform them.
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
This year's (2025) campaign will continue to be stigma. Last year also, we were talking about stigma and gynecological cancers. And this year, we are expanding our messaging about that and touching on stigma in, for example, the workplace, etc. What kind of stigma do you think is faced, if any, by gynecological cancer patients in Croatia?
Dr Gabrijela
Well, I think every gynecology oncology malignancy here has its own stigma. It’s also a stigma after the operation, going to work, and workplace stigmatization. People in the workplace think, “Should she? Can she? Do her job properly after the operation? And so on. That is the why we pointed out [in the panel] the endometrial cancer survivor that went back to her workplace after 10 days.
We have also some women that are younger and having vulva cancer. And when it's something on the vulva, it's like, you know, “I don't want to go to examination—it's something on my vulva, I don't want to show it.”
World Gynecologic Oncology Day
What would you say when you when you have a patient who comes to you and says, “I'm embarrassed,” or “I feel like I'm being stigmatized.” What kind of reassurance would you give them?
Dr Gabrijela
Well, I always encourage them that women are very brave. We have to do a lot about mental health. And I tell my women, “You know, you are a very brave woman, and going through all of this is very hard, but if anyone can do it, you can do it.”
In life, there are always ups and downs. And when we are down, nobody can take the up from us. Nobody can take this away from us, what we have been through.
We can do it together. And I always remember that I'm also a woman, and I that I understand this kind of examinations, and I do it with respect.