Jackie Manthorne, Canadian Cancer Survivor Network President & CEO made a presentation entitled Involvement of patients and survivors in advocacy and public policy development at the Canadian Cancer Survivor Network as part of the session Cancer care, survivorship, pain control and palliative care at the 22nd World Cancer Congress held in Montreal in late August, 2012. Manthorne’s presentation is now published in PDF format on the Union for International Cancer Control’s website at worldcancercongress.org.
Held for the first time in Canada, nearly 2,000 delegates from 115 countries attended the World Cancer Congress. At the Congress’ Opening Ceremony, Quebec Health Minister Dr. Yves Bolduc addressed the cancer control community, stressing the importance of the 2012 World Cancer Congress theme “Connecting for Global Impact.”
During the Congress, 273 international experts presented a total of 88 sessions divided into four distinctive tracks: cancer prevention and early detection (including tobacco control) (21 sessions); cancer care and survivorship (24 sessions); palliation and pain control (eight sessions); and systems in cancer control (eight sessions). A number of sessions were simultaneously translated into French.
Every Congress day started with an exceptional group of plenary speakers, such as: 2009 Nobel Prize winner in Biology or Medicine, Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn; Dr. Chris Wild, Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer; Lance Armstrong, Founder and Chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation; Dr. John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society; HRH Princess Dina Mired of the Kingdom of Jordan, General Director of the King Hussein Cancer Foundation; Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of the Pan American Health Organisation, and more.
The Congress week was also punctuated with an impressive array of social events, which enabled participants to meet informally and experience the wonderful setting of the city of Montréal. Photos are available on worldcancercongress.org.
The Global Village was booked to capacity, with 50 organisations showcasing their programs, activities and products, and with 150 exhibitors manning their respective stands. Several other activities were taking place in the Global Village, which provided a real networking environment. Some of the activities included: the UICC Members’ regional meetings which took place on the UICC stand, interactive “Meet the Expert” sessions and “How to” private meetings in the UICC Members meeting room, browsing the web and trying out FACEEO (the online delegate connector) at the cyber centre, networking around a coffee in the UICC lounge, and much more.
The next World Cancer Congress will take place on 3-6 December 2014 in Melbourne, Australia. For information, email congress@uicc.org.