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09 Feb 2022

4th Victorian Cancer Survivorship Conference March 24-25 2022

  • VCCC Alliance
  • Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre, a Richard Pratt Legacy

The 4th Victorian Cancer Survivorship Conference hosted by the VCCC Alliance and the Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre (ACSC) at Peter Mac will move from a hybrid to a fully virtual event next month as Victoria continues to grapple with Omicron’s impact. 

While the decision was not an easy one, conference convenor Professor Michael Jefford said health and safety were top priorities. “We have become adept at managing virtual events during the pandemic and there are some advantages to the online format. A key consideration is safety of delegates and the broader health workforce,” he said. 

“We are very much looking forward to presenting the extensive program profiling the latest evidence and ideas in survivorship nationwide and internationally. 

“We encourage all in the cancer community nationally to register for the fully virtual event. Participants will also be able to access all presentations for 12 months following the conference.” 

The conference theme Shifting Gears: Rethinking Survivorship will consider how recent advances in cancer survivorship research and care can be adopted to better meet the needs of the growing survivorship population. It will also consider system transformation, including lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Primary care has an important role in the ongoing management of cancer survivors 

Dr Karen Price, President of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP), will share her perspective as a professional in general practice for over 30 years and from having cancer herself. “I’m looking forward to sharing and caring about a cancer diagnosis…practical and personal stories as a GP and as a patient.” 

“I’m looking forward to sharing and caring about a cancer diagnosis…
Dr Karen Price

The conference will feature a number of outstanding international and national speakers. 

Professor Smita Bhatia, Director, Institute of Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship at the University of Alabama will be speaking about the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study and what the science tells us about identifying people at risk of late effects. 

Professor Christoffer Johansen, Head of Research, University of Copenhagen, Denmark will share what the future of survivorship care currently looks like in Europe and will talk about the use of registry and cohort data to understand cancer survivorship and late effects. 

Australian guest speakers are:

Professor Ray Chan, Director and Professor of Cancer Nursing, Caring Futures Institute, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University who will examine the evidence supporting models of care, beyond specialist-led, hospital-based - including nurse-led and others, and the evidence and future of telemedicine.

Professor Linda Denehy, Professor of Physiotherapy at the University of Melbourne and Head of Allied Health Research at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will provide insights on incorporating pre-rehabilitation and rehabilitation into routine care and will examine home-based and telehealth based rehabilitation interventions. 

Panels and the Great Debate 

Professors Chan and Denehy will also join a panel on day two of the program, alongside Prof Michael Jefford, Mr Neville Board, Victoria’s Chief Digital Health Officer, Prof Dorothy Keefe, CEO of Cancer Australia, Dr Karen Price, President of RACGP and Ms Sophy Athan, VCCC Alliance Chair, Cancer Consumer Advisory Committee to explore the future of survivorship care. 

Ms Athan said, “I will be delighted to be joining such illustrious company to present the voice of the consumer on survivorship. Consumers are at the front and centre of survivorship.” 

“Consumers are at the front and centre of survivorship.”
Ms Sophy Athan 

Care transitions will be the topic of a panel passing the baton, navigating your pathways facilitated by Kylie Mason and featuring Dr Greg Wheeler, Assoc Prof Justin Tse, Yvonne Panek-Hudson, Bernadette Zappa, Meg Chiswell and consumer representative Nicholas Ball. People can struggle when they transition across care environments whether that’s between paediatric, adolescent and adult services, or between hospital and community settings. The panellists will discuss how to ensure effective, smooth transitions. 

The Great Debate facilitated by Associate Professor Craig Underhill will argue whether the use of digital and remote care options will increase inequity. 

Debaters are Dr Ben Smith, Senior Research Fellow and Cancer Institute NSW Career Development Fellow, Dr Mahesh Iddawela, medical oncologist and health services researcher, Assoc Prof Kate Burbury, consultant haematologist and Director of Digital and Healthcare Innovations at Peter Mac, Dr Kalinda Griffiths, VCCC Alliance Research & Education Lead, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, and Margaret Polacska and Joanne Hickman, Peter Mac consumer representatives. 

Professor Burbury commented, I am looking forward to healthy banter amongst expert friends. We’ll be analysing how digital strategies have transformed the delivery of care for ALL patients with cancer – independent of tumour type, treatment, geography, socio-economic status and cultural and linguistic diversity - in particular, overcoming the challenges in access, in our socially challenged environment. 

"We’ll be analysing how digital strategies have transformed the delivery of care for ALL patients with cancer...
A/Prof Kate Burbury

Don’t miss out

A large audience of international, national, and regional professionals and consumers are expected to take part in the 4th Victorian Cancer Survivorship Virtual Conference March 24-25 March 2022.

Read more and register here.

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