2012 UICC World Cancer Congress
August 27-30, 2012 Montreal, Canada
The 2012 UICC World Cancer Congress will focus on providing education and training opportunities throughout the programme including interactive meetings, forums, workshops and sessions.
Connecting for Global Impact
The theme for the 2012 UICC World Cancer Congress is Connecting for Global Impact – and highlights the need for continued support and momentum in translating the benefits of knowledge gained through research and practice to those living with and affected by cancer.
UICC believes this can be achieved through global actions, which will result through connections and partnerships made through the international cancer control community at the Congress.
The 2012 Congress will provide education and training opportunities throughout the programme including plenary, interactive sessions, meetings, forums, workshops and symposia. The programme consists of four tracks each directly linked to one or more of the World Cancer Declaration targets and representing the many different segments of the cancer control participants.
Track 1: Prevention and early detection (including tobacco control)
The standard definition of primary and secondary prevention sets the scope for this track, methods targetting behavioural risk factors as well as underlying factors such as social and economic disadvantage will be explored in these sessions. Tobacco control is a vital and specialised aspect of cancer control, and is an established field with knowledge and experience that can be transferred to other risk factors. Including tobacco control in a broader sense will facilitate an important exchange between participants with the goal of improving prevention outcomes for all risk factors.
Session topics include:
- Digital media in cancer prevention and tobacco control
- Countering the tobacco industry
- Education and communication for tobacco control
- Plain packaging
- Diet, physical activity and cancer risk
- Food policy interventions
- Bowel cancer screening
- Cervical cancer prevention and screening
- Alcohol and cancer
Who should attend? Professionals in cancer control, research and programme implementation who wish to expand their knowledge on new prevention and early detection strategies.
Track 2: Cancer care and survivorship
This track includes proven medical treatment of the disease in the context of a desire to provide active treatment and comprehensive care for those affected by cancer, including measures to improve side-effects of treatment, psychosocial assessment and support and rehabilitation. This track will explore in depth what ‘survivorship’ means to people affected by cancer, what they want and need, how the health system can meet those needs, and what survivors themselves can contribute.
Session topics include:
- Costs of cancer
- Improving the patient journey
- Telepathology
- Oncogeriatrics
- International responses to cancer survivorship
- Personalised therapy
- Social media in cancer care and support
Who should attend? Individuals engaged in cancer care including researchers, healthcare professionals, volunteers, patient support teams, advocacy groups, cancer networks and survivors.
Track 3: Palliation and pain control
As over one third of patients die within 5 years of a diagnosis (even in the most advanced health systems), dying, and humane methods to ease the psychological and physical burden of impending death will be explored, as will the challenges (and benefits) of an early introduction of palliative care into the patient’s journey. In terms of equity, giving palliation and pain control importance helps address the inequity arising in resource-constrained countries where end of life interventions are often all that can be offered.
Session topics include:
- Global access to pain relief
- International efforts in palliative care
- Advances in cancer pain assessment and management
- Strategies for improving global palliative care
- Media and advocacy for global pain relief
- Pain relief as a human right
- Paediatric cancer pain
Who should attend? Professionals and volunteers engaged in palliative care, symptom and pain control.
Track 4: Systems in cancer control
Emphasising systems solutions builds upon the theme of the 2010 Congress -‘Systems to make it happen’ - and is a priority for those who wish to make an impact at a community level to improve the access to care. A broad definition of the term ‘system’ will be used to allow for the discussion of issues, and solutions for improving national, regional and local health systems. Surveillance systems, including cancer registries, and population risk factor monitoring will be a key focus, as will how to advocate for the cancer cause, creating an infrastructure around fundraising and the distribution of resources.
Session topics include:
- Global surveillance of survival
- Partnerships for prevention
- Cancer registration in low and middle income countries
- Workforce solutions
- Cancer control in indigenous populations
- Advocacy for cancer control
- Legal strategies in cancer control
Who should attend? Cancer control researchers and programme implementers. Professionals and volunteers, engaged in programme monitoring and evaluation, fundraising, advocacy, policy work or governance will also find value in attending.
