The Global Fight Against Cancer

International Cancer Conference in Italy Features American Cancer Society Presentations

From left to right:  Dr. Luiz Santini, Brazil's National Cancer Institute (INCA); Jon Kerner, Canadian Partnership against Cancer; Abel Limache Garcia, Peru's National Cancer Institute (INEN); Cristina Parsons Perez, American Cancer Society; Eva Maria Ruiz de Castilla, NGO Esperantra.

At the 3rd International Cancer Control Congress held November 8-11 in Como, Italy, American Cancer Society staff delivered presentations on cancer planning, employer engagement, and tobacco control in Africa. More than 400 cancer control leaders from Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia addressed critical issues in planning and implementing a comprehensive approach to cancer control. In addition to keynote presentations by Ala Alwan, MD, of the World Health Organization (WHO) and others, there were workshops on all aspects of cancer planning and control in low-, middle-, and high-resource settings. Cristina Parsons Perez, PhD, manager, Latin America Initiatives, American Cancer Society, served on a panel about cancer planning with the head of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Johanna Ralston, vice president, Global Strategies, American Cancer Society, gave two presentations at sessions organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency on tobacco and cancer control in Africa and working with employers and the public sector on public-private partnerships. The abstracts of American Cancer Society staff presentations were selected for publication in the Congress monograph in the journal Tumori, a journal about experimental and clinical oncology.

American Cancer Society Sponsors Plenary Session on Cancer Control Advocacy on Final Day of AORTIC Conference

On November 14, the final day of the AORTIC Conference in Tanzania, the American Cancer Society sponsored a plenary session about cancer control advocacy that focused on making the disease a global health priority. Ann McMikel, strategic director, Planning and Operations, American Cancer Society, served as one of the co-chairs for the plenary session and introduced the session, along with Seth Ayettey, MD, PhD, professor of Anatomy, University of Ghana. Johanna Ralston, vice president, Global Strategies and managing director, International Affairs, American Cancer Society, addressed advocacy related to cervical cancer screening and prevention. Claire Neal, senior director of Mission, Lance Armstrong Foundation, talked about engaging advocates to make cancer a global priority. Anso Thom, a journalist with the South African health news Web site Health-e and American Cancer Society journalist fellow, spoke about engaging the media to raise cancer awareness. Earlier in the day, American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, participated in a panel discussion with leaders from other global health organizations about the importance of international collaboration for cancer control in Africa.

American Cancer Society and Other Global Health Leaders Address Breast Cancer in Developing World at Harvard University Conference

The American Cancer Society played key roles in organizing and participating in a major conference on breast cancer in the developing world November 3-5 at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. The aim of the conference, which was called Breast cancer in the developing world: meeting the unforeseen challenge to women, health, and equity, was to raise greater global awareness of the epidemic of breast cancer in low- and middle-income countries, where the disease is now the leading cause of cancer-related death among adult women. American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John Seffrin, PhD, spoke to the global health leaders attending the conference about the lessons of tobacco control and how these lessons can help the breast cancer movement. Additionally, Alessandra Durstine, vice president, Regional Strategies and director, Latin America Programs, American Cancer Society; and Robert Smith, PhD, director of Cancer Screening, American Cancer Society, discussed advocacy planning and population-based screening. Durstine also represented the American Cancer Society on the steering committee for the event. The conference brought together delegates and speakers from around the world who are working on breast cancer, including leading researchers, policy-makers, and advocates. More than 10 cancer control nongovernmental organizations from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, which are partners of the American Cancer Society, participated in the conference.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Delivers Keynote Address on Colorectal Cancer in Africa; Society Recognizes AORTIC’s Commitment to Fighting Cancer

Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society, speaking at an ACS pre-conference workshop for journalists and nongovernmental organization representatives in Tanzania.

American Cancer Society Chief Medical Officer Otis Brawley, MD, delivered a keynote address about the colorectal cancer burden in Africa November 13 at AORTIC Conference 2009 in Tanzania. His address included the latest available data and opportunities to intervene now to prevent the cancer from becoming a public health challenge in the region by using lessons learned from the US and other developed parts of the world. At the conference’s gala dinner, the Society presented AORTIC’s leadership with a gift to recognize the organization’s commitment to the fight against cancer in Africa. The new president and executive council of AORTIC were named at the dinner. Serigne Gueye, MD, from Senegal, will serve as president of AORTIC for the next two years.

American Cancer Society Actively Participates in First Full Day of AORTIC Conference

 
Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society (second row, standing in center), with other distinguished guests at AORTIC Conference 2009, including His Excellency Jakaya Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania (seated first row, second from right).

On Thursday, November 12, the first full day of the American Cancer Society-supported AORTIC Conference 2009 got off to a great start. The conference has attracted record attendance, with more than 700 global government and health leaders convening to discuss cancer and tobacco control in Africa. American Cancer Society staff and volunteers delivered presentations at key plenary sessions and workshops on tobacco control, advocacy, and cancer planning, including Van Wolf, chair, National Board of Directors; Thomas Glynn, PhD, director, Cancer Science and Trends and director, International Cancer Control; Ann McMikel, strategic director, International Affairs; and Loyce Pace, director, Regional Programs, International Affairs. Following the morning sessions, Tanzania’s president, Jakaya Kikwete, officially welcomed the conference delegates and pledged his commitment to making cancer a priority in the region. In the evening, the American Cancer Society delegation hosted a dinner for Society partners attending the conference.

American Cancer Society Convenes 24 Journalists in Tanzania for Media Summit to Address Africa Cancer and Tobacco Burden

On the first full day of the American Cancer Society Media Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 24 journalists from eight African countries engaged in discussions with experts from the Society and other global cancer and tobacco control organizations on the emerging threats of cancer and tobacco use in Africa. The Media Summit is generously supported by Oracle and the Canadian Cancer Society. Two American Cancer Society staff, Thomas Glynn, PhD, director, Cancer Science and Trends and director, International Cancer Control; and Evan Blecher, economist, International Tobacco Control Research, joined other tobacco control experts in making presentations on tobacco use and control in Africa, including Tosin Orogun, programme manager, African Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI); Sverre Berg Lutnaes, senior advisor, International Affairs, Norwegian Cancer Society; and Lutgard Kagaruki, Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum. Cancer survivor Samantha Galliet, director, Campaigning for Cancer based in South Africa, and Haskell Ward, a representative of SEACOMM and an advisor to the Society, talked about the importance of survivor stories and advocacy in raising awareness about cancer. In group exercises, the journalists discussed with cancer and tobacco control experts the impact of various cancer and tobacco myths commonly heard on the continent and shared information that could be used to debunk these myths through media stories. In the evening, a panel of cancer control experts spoke with journalists about the challenges and opportunities involved with Africa’s growing cancer burden. The panel discussion was moderated by Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer, American Cancer Society, and included these other cancer control experts: Twalib Ngoma, MD, president of AORTIC and executive director, Ocean Road Cancer Institute, Tanzania; Lynette Denny, secretary treasurer of AORTIC and professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Cape Town, South Africa; Olufunmilayo Olopade, MD, FACP, professor of medicine and human genetics and director, Cancer Risk Clinic, University of Chicago Medical Center; and Serigne Gueye, professor of urology, University of Cheikh Anta Diop and head of urology, Hospital General de Grand Yoff, Senegal.

American Cancer Society Joins Experts to Discuss Public Engagement at the Global Leadership Forum for Cancer Control

GoPublic Forum, from left to right: Steve Hildebrand, (deputy campaign manager, Barack Obama campaign), Tom Kean, (executive director, c-change), Cristina Parsons Perez, (manager, Latin America Cancer Initiatives, American Cancer Society), Jeff Rushton (founder, Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation), Pat Kelly (chief executive officer, C2CC).

The Global Leadership Forum for Cancer Control (GoPublic) took place September 23-26 in Ottawa, Canada. The event, presented by the Canadian Campaign to Control Cancer (C2CC), focused on public engagement in cancer control and best practices in the field. Cristina Parsons Perez, PhD, manager, Latin America Cancer Initiatives, American Cancer Society, together with Jeff Rushton of Coast to Coast Against Cancer Foundation co-chaired the steering committee for the forum. Johanna Ralston, vice president, Global Strategies and managing director, International Affairs, American Cancer Society, delivered a presentation on the Society’s global workplace initiative work and led a workshop on the subject. Parsons Perez also gave a presentation on the Society’s international work as part of the forum’s opening plenary. The GoPublic forum included high-profile speakers including: Elizabeth Edwards, cancer survivor and health advocate; Stephen Lewis, former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa; and Steve Hildebrand, who was deputy campaign manager for Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential  campaign). Suzanne Steffens of Duke University reported on the Community Conversations that preceded the GoPublic forum, which was an effort to engage people around the world in an online dialogue about global cancer control. The American Cancer Society contributed to Community Conversations by hosting its own conversation via its American Cancer Society Global Facebook page and its Global Fight Against Cancer blog (see March 2, 2009, blog entry).

American Cancer Society to Join African and Mediterranean NGOs at Cancer Conference in Paris in October

The French National League against Cancer, founder of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and founding member of the Cancer Network for International Cooperation (RCCI), is launching a new effort to enable African and Mediterranean cancer nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to exchange ideas and create a supportive network. This collaboration will provide better support for patients and their caregivers, and foster cooperation among health professionals and institutions in the region.The French National League against Cancer will hold, at its Paris headquarters on October 9-10, the first meeting of the Francophone African & Mediterranean Leagues in the Fight Against Cancer, which will be attended by NGOs and experts invested in this cause in the region. For more information about the upcoming event, click on this link to view the conference Web site (all information available only in French; English version to be added soon): liguesafromed.com. Sylvana Rochet-Belleri, North Africa program manager, American Cancer Society, will attend the conference to meet with partners and stakeholders.

Leading Cancer Control Experts Issue Call for the Inclusion of Cancer and Other Noncommunicable Diseases in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals

John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer, and Nathan Grey, national vice president, International Affairs, American Cancer Society, have joined other leading global cancer control experts in a call for the inclusion of cancer and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) in the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Their views appear in a joint editorial in the September 2009 issue of CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, a peer-reviewed journal published by the American Cancer Society. The authors describe the growing global threat of NCDs, particularly to low- and middle-income countries. Eighty percent of NCDs worldwide occur in these countries, and mortality rates there due to NCDs are rising, threatening to overwhelm health systems ill-prepared for such a growing pandemic. The MDGs are recognized by many as the world’s development and public health agenda. Placing NCDs on this agenda would help to balance growing public health disparities and reduce the economic costs and personal suffering associated with these diseases. Other co-authors of the editorial include David Hill, PhD, president, International Union Against Cancer (UICC); Werner Burkhart, deputy director general, International Atomic Energy Authority; Ian Magrath, MB, BS, FRCP, FRCPath, president, International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR); Rajendra A. Badwe, MD, MBBS, director, Tata Memorial Centre; Twalib Ngoma, MD, president, African Organisation for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC); Alejandro Mohar, MD, director general, Mexican National Cancer Institute.  
 
To read the editorial in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, please click on this link.

American Cancer Society CEO Dr. John Seffrin Delivers Summit Keynote Address and Participates in Panel Moderated by CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta

American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John R. Seffrin, PhD (right), responds to a question from CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta (left).

 

American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John R. Seffrin, PhD, delivers Summit keynote address.

 

On August 24, the opening day of the Livestrong Global Cancer Summit in Dublin, Ireland, American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John R. Seffrin, PhD, participated in a panel discussion on the global impact of cancer and how it affects individuals, families, communities, and governments. The panel, moderated by CNN Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, also included Dr. Werner Burkart, deputy director general, International Atomic Energy Agency; Dr. Christopher P. Wild, director, International Agency for Research on Cancer; and Lynn Faulds Wood, president, European Cancer Patient Coalition. The evening's events at the summit included a keynote address from Dr. Seffrin during the first dinner of the conference. Dr. Seffrin's remarks focused on the impact of cancer around the globe and what it will take to stem the tide of this worldwide pandemic, calling attention to topics like access to care, cancer prevention, and empowering cancer survivors.