ANT, a non-profit organization, was founded in 1978.Our “creed” is EUBIOSIA (from the old Greek “good life”, meaning “life in dignity, from birth to death”).




We assist cancer Patients in their homes, completely free-of-charges. We can do this thanks to private donations. Our oncological Hospitals-at-Home offer not only all health care given in a traditional hospital, but also the comfort coming from assisting the Patients in their environment, surrounded by their Family.Everyday about 3.000 Patients are assisted (almost 70.000 since start).In order to get our assistance it’s necessary to present a request from the G.P. to our assistance offices throughout Italy.As far as research is concerned, ANT has started a Laboratory of Pharmacokinetics and Metabolism at the Chemistry Faculty of Bologna University to study anticancer drugs properties to improve their clinical employment, thus reducing the collateral noxious effects.Since 1996, a project is being carried out to build a Solidarity Institute, the “International Volunteer Centre”, where permanent refresher courses for health personnel and volunteers will be held. Now this dream has been fulfilled and we have moved to "The institute for Oncological Sciences, for Solidarity and Volunteer Service".



Doctors and Nurses work in ANT on a free professional fee basis. All of them follow a preliminary 6 or 3 weeks course before entering the Hospitals-at-Home. All of them are on 24 hours call, 7 days a week. Our activity reaches out also to children affected by cancer. In Italy, about 1.000 ANT-Volunteers are engaged with different tasks, social and promotional (only professionals carry out the health care tasks). Besides oncologists, when necessary, ANT make use of specialists’ help in other therapies, in particular the psychologists’ for Patients’ and Families’ support.



The care for advanced cancer Patients has quality of life as its primary goal. Since 1985 the ANT Foundation has created the ANT-OHH (Oncological Hospice-at-Home), assisting advanced and far advanced cancer Patients in their homes according to the EUBIOSIA PROJECT. The ANT-OHH is an organized sanitary structure that provides home assistance to the Patients at a traditional hospital level.
Our goad is guaranteeing dignity of life as a priority for the oncological Patients, in the advanced and more advanced stages, assisted at home. The structural model of ANT provides the Patients with a free-of-charge 24 hours assistance. The full-time staff of physicians, nurse and psychologists of the ANT-OHH is organized in functionally autonomous groups based on the model of a hospital ward.
The acceptance of the Patients in ANT-OHH depends only on the diagnosis of the cancer and the request of the GP. We have a quality control that guarantees a high level of assistance. All the professional staff follows basic and continuous training. We are able to provide at home, as in hospital, electrocardiograms, radiological and ultrasound examinations, blood tests, blood transfusions and cancer chemotherapy as well.
23 ANT-OHH are working now in 9 Italian regions, with 149 physicians (including specialists in oncology), 3 nutritionists, 69 nurses, 23 psychologists, 3 physiotherapists, 3 pharmacists and 55 special consultants. Up to December 2008 a total of more than 70.000 Patients were assisted in ANT-OHH, translating in an overall total of more than 11 million days of assistance. About 3.000 Patients are daily assisted throughout Italy, their median age being 75 years. In its 24 years experience the ANT-OHH model full answers to the needs of far advanced cancer Patients. Although the economic advantage of hospice-at-home care certainly is important we would like to stress that better quality and dignity of life should be the main point supporting the idea of global hospice-at-home care.