Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar Cancer Society (QCS) participated in the World Cancer Congress 2022, which was held from October 18 to 20 in a hybrid event format, at the International Conference Centre, Geneva, Switzerland.
The QCS delegation was headed by Sheikh Dr. Khalid bin Jabor Al Thani, chairman of QCS, Prof. Muhanned Harrah, manager of programmes and Dr. Hadi Mohamad Abu Rasheed, scientific advisor and head of the Cancer Awareness and Professional Development Department.
Qatar Cancer society was the only Cancer Civil Society from the GCC and MENA regions that participated in the accompanying exhibition and attracted great attention of the global event. The charity shared its efforts in cancer awareness, and the booth focused on Qatar’s success in hosting the World Cup.
QCS presented the research, “Breast Cancer Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Amongst Women in Qatar.” The charity took part in developing the UICC resource “Antimicrobial resistance Control Supplement - The Challenge for the Cancer Community,” which was released as a recommendation of the congress.
Qatar Cancer Society participated in two sessions. The first one was “Stories of People Living With Cancer As An Innovative Methodology For Medical Education,” which was co-organised with Weill Cornell Medicine – Qatar and Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts (Qatar). The second session was “Because Cancer Doesn’t Wait, Childhood Cancer Awareness, Despite Pandemic, Is a Must,” co-organised with Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon and Childhood Cancer International.
The congress was attended in person in the conference centre by 2,000 scientists, medical specialists, NGO and civil society representatives, government officials, ministers of health, and high-level United Nations representatives, and many more attended it online from 120 countries. The congress included more than 200 sessions.
Highlights of the topics covered in the congress include: Advances in universal health coverage and cancer control, tobacco control – countering industry influence, regulating new products such as e-cigarettes, improving access to cancer medicines in low-income regions, the impact of Covid-19, hearing from people living with cancer – breaking the taboo around cancer and multidisciplinary survivorship care, advances in cancer screening, diagnostics, and treatment, including vaccines, immunotherapy, artificial intelligence and precision medicine, abstract-led sessions showcasing implementation science, and the threat of antimicrobial resistance for cancer patients, the need for infection control and the rational use of drugs
During the congress, expertise was exchanged between the delegation ofQCSand several officials, most notably Elisabete Weiderpass, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer - World Health Organisation, Richard Shadyac, chief executive officer of ALSAC, the awareness and fundraising branch of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Isabel Mestres, chief executive officer, City Cancer Challenge Foundation, Maria Barbara Leon, chief operating officer, Union for International Cancer Control, and Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu, first lady of Kebbi State, Nigeria, chief executive officer, Medicaid Cancer Foundation/First Ladies Against Cancer.
A meeting was also held with Princess Dina Mired, past president of UICC, Union for International Cancer Control, Dr. Asem Mansour, chief executive officer of King Hussein Cancer Centre, Hana Chaar Choueib, general manager, The Children’s Cancer Centre of Lebanon.
