Regional Oncology Communications and Health Promotions
International Cancer Conference The International Cancer Conference was established in 2003 and has existed for 9 years. It was the first conference of its kind and has developed into a major international conference bringing together multidisciplinary teams in cancer care. It has become a key education forum for health care professionals, policy makers, voluntary sector and groups involved in cancer services. Each year the cancer conference has a different focus either on cancer survival and partnerships or on merging science and medicine to secure positive patient care. The conference provides updates on new developments in the treatment of cancer, highlighting advances in research and promoting community relations as well as updates in cancer care pathways. It has been so successful that it was recently adopted by Trinity College Dublin for their Tri-centary conference
Strategic Development Award The Cancer Strategic development award which is linked to the International cancer conference aims to recognize an individual or group of individuals who have made a significant strategic contribution in the area of cancer care, cancer prevention, cancer research or cancer-related healthcare issues on the island of Ireland. It was established in 2005 and some of its previous recipients of the award were: Minister Michael Martin, TD for his role while Minister of Health and Children in promoting cancer prevention by the introduction of the Smoking Ban on 29th March 2004. The recognized success of the smoking ban in Ireland has prompted other European countries to consider and implement similar legislation, placing Ireland at the core of a significant international health care strategic development. Prof Edison Liu (currently Executive Director, Genome Institute of Singapore) for his role in helping to establish the Ireland-Northern Ireland National Cancer Institute Consortium while deputy director of the NCI. The Ireland-Northern Ireland National Cancer Institute Memorandum of Understanding was signed in Stormont Castle in Belfast in 1999, leading to a series of initiatives in cancer care, cancer clinical trials, cancer education and cancer prevention which have generated significant benefit for the cancer community on the island of Ireland. Professor Peter Daly, Consultant Medical Oncologist for his significant contribution to the development of oncology services, oncology research and oncology training on the island of Ireland. He was a member of the 1st and 2nd Fora on Development of Cancer Services in Ireland. He is a founder member and was the first secretary of the Irish Society of Medical Oncology. He was a founding member of ICORG, the Irish Clinical Oncology Research Group. He served on the first committee of the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/Ireland/ Northern Ireland Cancer Consortium and remains committed to the development of cancer services as well as training and education opportunities on the island of Ireland. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of adult genetic cancer services in Ireland. As one of the earliest consultants in the field of cancer medicine, he has been to the forefront in developing medical oncology in Ireland
AMNCH All Ireland Nursing Conference in Breast Care The Regional Oncology Programme Office assisted AMNCH in the organizing and creation of this conference. This one day conference endearvoured to focus the education needs of the nursing profession who directly support patients with breast disease through their journey. Treating breast disease involves a multidisciplinary team, with the aim of improving outcomes, where the nursing profession acts as the main link with the patient. The conference was unusual in that it directly acknowledges not only the needs of breast cancer patients but also the specific needs of those nurses dedicated to their care
Irish Gynae Oncology Society Meeting Working with Dr. Noreen Gleeson, Consultant Gynecologist, Coombe Women s Hospital the Regional Oncology Programme Office assisted in the Irish Gynae Oncology society s annual scientific meeting lectures included Sentinel Node Biopsy in Gynecological Cancer by Dr. K Astbury, Gynaecological Oncology Fellow. The Coombe Women s Hospital and St. James s Hospital guest lecture was by Professor John O Leary, Cervical Cancer New Genes for Old Problem. It was a very successful meeting attended by leading gynaecological oncology professionals
International Annual Conference on Pediatric and Adolescent Leukemia, Our Lady s Hospital, Crumlin. The Regional Oncology Communications and Health Promotions Officer worked with Professor Owen Smith, Consultant Paediatric Haematologist to develop an international annual conference on paediatric and adolescent leukaemia and other blood disease. This conference included service frameworks for adolescent cancers, adolescent leukaemia, adolescent non-hodgkin lymphoma and complications and novel therapeutic interventions. Cancers in adolescents are relatively rare and yet present challenging management problems, both medical and psychological. In recent years, questions about how teenagers and young adults with cancer should be managed have become more prominent. Prof Smith has been working with this group for a substantial amount of time and has seen the improved outcomes that can be achieved by instituting some minor changes to service delivery and protocols. He has called them the lost tribe as very often this age group will either be treated by the cancer experts in the children s hospitals or cancer experts in the adult hospitals both treatment protocols are very different. Adolescents prefer to be treated among their peers and in so doing this process helps improve outcomes.
Your Health is Your Wealth - Regional Community Meetings It is universally accepted that a key factor in the prevention and treatment of cancer is education about the disease as well as providing information about the services available for diagnosis, treatment and aftercare. The Your Health Is Your Wealth community awareness programme was a joint initiative between the Regional Oncology Programme Office, the Dublin City Development Board (DCDB), the Dublin Community forum and the Dublin Community Section and professionals from the acute hospitals, the primary care teams and the community. The initiatives were innovative as they took a multi-agency approach across the city gathering experience and expertise from Dublin City Council, the Regional Oncology Programme Office and the voluntary sector. It began with a series of community awareness meetings named Your Health Is Your Wealth, focusing on promoting prevention and early detection. These meetings offered the public an opportunity to learn more about cancer prevention and early detection from some of Ireland s top medical experts. The experts discussed preventative strategies such as the promotion of smoking cessation, reducing obesity, good nutrition and increasing exercise. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions both through the discussion groups and more informally over refreshments, when they were able to ask questions of both doctors and nurses and other experts present. This initial programme ran across the city involving 5 medical institutions, Dublin City Council and volunteers from multiple cancer support groups as well as the Irish Cancer Society. It was a pilot initiative and feedback was positive. Feedback as follows: 94% stating they understood the talks 50% felt that the content of the presentations lessened their fear of cancer. 68% of respondents stated they would now be inclined to check for early symptoms 80% stated that they would seek out their GP if early symptoms were noted.
Wise up! It s My Life Too One of the recommendations of the community workers after our first programme was that future programmes should target community based programmes i.e. health education aimed at transition year school children. We took this feedback on board and this resulted in a specially-tailored programme for transition year students entitled Your Health Is Your Wealth Wise Up! It s My Life Too!. The Wise Up! Programme initially targeted a number of schools in one of our local communities Ballyfermot. Working with the Marie Keating Foundation (MKF) (who were already involved in a schools initiative with the Department of Education call CAP Cancer Awareness Programme) we developed a programme for the schools. The students did their own research and created a presentation on a variety of cancers such as skin, breast, lung and testicular cancer. Prizes were awarded to the best presentation. The students had to present their findings and also bring two adults with them to the exhibition (promoting an Ambassador of Health programme to spread the word of what they ve learned). These presentations were followed by a talk by a medical professional on the value of early detection and prevention promoting healthy eating and exercise to prevent cancers. Then there was a plenary session so that the members of the public had the opportunity to have open questions and answers with medical consultants. This pilot proved very successful with the school adolescents researching cancer topics and demonstrating to their own community what they learned. Partnership and collaboration with any community programme is essential and all partners Dublin City Council, Marie Keating Foundation, cancer experts and nursing professionals and support groups made this cancer awareness event highly successful.
Your Health is Your Wealth - International Women s Day Community initiatives are essential if we are to make some impact on educating people on prevention and early detection. International Women s Day gave a great opportunity to activate the Your Health is Your Wealth programme again across the city. This third programme for International Women s day while a smaller programme has proved quite effective: 96% of attendees stating they understood the medical terms used by the consultants. Having listened to the consultant s talks almost 90% of respondents now say that they will carry out such checks in the future because they are now better informed about the meaning of more specific symptoms and signs. 80% responded they would now definitely attend a doctor to get such signs medically assessed. Cancer is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ireland. One of the key preventative measures in cancer is early detection. Development of community programmes are an effective way to engage members of the public to build up awareness of the early signs and symptoms while educating people to take responsibility for their own health. Collaboration on all fronts is the only way forward and optimum access and treatment outcomes for patients must remain the primary focus. As always the success of any programme is founded on the commitment and professionalism of its highly dedicated team. The participation that the medical teams, voluntary sector and community workers clearly demonstrated an enthusiasm for engagement with our communities. To quote Mr. Peter Finnegan, Director International Relations and Special Projects, DCC those of us working within and around our health system do care about preventative approaches and are prepared in their own time to engage with communities in their own space.