IPOS News


  • 25 Jun 2020 10:35 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    IPOS has recently established a Survivorship Special Interest Group (SIG). The aims of the Survivorship Special Interest Group (SIG) are to:

    • Provide a professional network for clinicians and researchers who have an interest in cancer survivorship
    • Promote awareness of issues affecting cancer survivors, their family members, and carers
    • Disseminate through the IPOS website information about a broad range of educational opportunities (including web-based resources or focused training), workshops or conferences (if approved by the Education Committee) of interest to members
    • Establish research collaborations (in coordination with the IPOS Research Committee)
    • Disseminate research findings including implementation strategies particularly in the areas of prevention, early detection, and management of survivorship issues, as well as promotion of wellness
    • Network with like-minded organisations with a similar focus to the IPOS survivorship SIG
    • Provide advice to the IPOS Board regarding survivorship care

    I am the inaugural chair of the SIG. We are now calling for expressions of interest / members. To be eligible, you must be a member of IPOS, or be willing to join.

    Work of the SIG will be shaped by the membership, though we anticipate initial work will include:

    • Establishing a section of the IPOS website that will contain: guidance regarding common issues experienced by survivors; professional education relevant to survivorship care; information about research gaps and priorities; profiles of current IPOS members active in survivorship research; resources about the post-treatment survivorship phase for patients and carers, available in multiple languages
    • Collating information from SIG members regarding their current clinical practice, educational and research activity, relating to cancer survivorship
    • Facilitating research collaborations in topics relating to cancer survivorship
    • Considering the development of position statements and resource-stratified guidelines relating to cancer survivorship

    Please complete a simple form to register your interest by going to https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FBDLTH7

    I hope we’ll have our first Zoom meeting in a month or two

    Best wishes

    Prof Michael Jefford
    MBBS, MPH, MHlthServMt Monash, PhD, GCertUniTeach Melb, GAICD, FRACP

  • 16 Jun 2020 9:42 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)
    • The Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York offers a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Psycho-Oncology to begin July/August 2020. 

      REQUIREMENTS: A doctoral degree (Ph.D. or Psy.D.) in psychology or allied field.

      PROGRAM OVERVIEW:   The fellow would train under licensed health psychologist and founding director of The Bronx Oncology Living Daily (BOLD) Program and work within a compassionate and hardworking team towards learning the skills for developing, implementing, and evaluating culturally-responsive cancer wellness services tailored to a diverse and underserved population. 

      The training emphasis of this fellowship is 50% research/program coordination, 30% mentoring others, and 20% clinical

      The Fellow would be involved in all aspects of this community-based Cancer Wellness Program including:

    • ·          Coordination, development, and clinical delivery of BOLD programming and services
    • ·          Screening, supervision and training of interns and consultants
    • ·          Research implementation including IRB reporting, coordinating data recruitment, data entry, and intervention activity, and
    • ·          Grant, conference, and publication preparation
    • ·          Fundraising activity
    • ·          Attending Einstein/Montefiore presentations and trainings for professional development

    To apply for this position, please EMAIL your CV with a cover letter to:

    [email protected] 

    Learn More about BOLD here: 

    YouTube:  https://tinyurl.com/BOLDpgmVideo

    www.einsteinmed.org/cancercenter/support


  • 2 Jun 2020 10:08 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    Register quickly, spaces are limited!

    Date and time: Thursday, June 18, 2020 4 to 5:30 p.m. ET (LIVE)


    Discuss the experience in different countries of cancer patients, families, and healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Outline challenges, opportunities, and strategies to optimize care on the level of public policy, research, clinical care, and training. Define needs for collaboration in these areas, with the potential creation of eventual working groups.

    Methods: We have the pleasure of having an invited speaker, Jim Davidson, who will talk about how to maintain a resilient mindset in the face of adversity, resilient teamwork, and resilient leadership. The Q&A period will be followed by a panel discussion initiated by senior IPOS members Dr. Jane Turner, Dr. David Kissane, Dr. Gary Rodin, and Dr. Chioma Asuzu.

    Invited Speaker: 

    Here’s a sneak peek of what to expect: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2g6hk3OU-M

    Jim Davidson is a resilience expert, an expedition leader, and a New York Times best-selling author. From his 36 years of adventure and survival, Jim distills compelling stories and uplifting lessons about how to overcome change, challenge and uncertainty through resilience.

    He shares motivating keynotes and workshops on personal resilience, resilient teamwork and resilient leadership. Jim has scaled high peaks from Argentina to Nepal, from Bolivia to Tibet. The US National Park Service has commended Jim twice for volunteering for successful high-altitude rescues in Colorado and Alaska.

    While first attempting to ascend Mt. Everest in 2015, Jim and his partners survived massive earthquakes and avalanches. He shared his incredible experiences and insights with CNN, CBS, ABC, NBC, Smithsonian Channel, PBS and more. Jim told his story of surviving the earthquake in the National Geographic TV Show “Witness to Disaster”. In 2017, Jim returned to Mount Everest and summited successfully. For 20 years. Jim worked as a hydrogeologist (B.S. & M.S. degrees) and ran his own environmental consulting firm. Earlier he worked as an industrial painter on high-voltage electrical towers carrying 230,000 volts.

    Jim co-authored the New York Times best-selling survival memoir, "The Ledge: An Inspirational Story of Friendship and Survival". The Ledge won the National Outdoor Book Award for Outdoor Literature, and was picked one of the Best Books of the Year by Amazon. His epic survival story was featured in an international TV episode of "I Shouldn't Be Alive" on the Discovery Channel.

    Panel discussants: Dr. Jane Turner, Dr. David Kissane, Dr. Gary Rodin, Dr. Chioma Asuzu

    Chair: Dr. Melissa Henry

    Registration - individual advance registration required:

    • Free to current IPOS members
    • *$15 USD for non-members
    Register online by going to https://ipos-society.org/event-3861107

    *
     Not a member of IPOS? Find out more by going to https://ipos-society.org/membership/apply
  • 19 May 2020 10:42 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    Did you submit an abstract to the 22nd Annual IPOS World Congress and was ACCEPTED? If yes, we have some important dates and options now that the congress has been postponed to 2021.

    YES OR NO TO KEEPING YOUR APPROVED ABSTRACT FOR THE NEW 2021 DATES?

    You need to confirm by no later than August 1, 2020 if you wish to keep your abstract(s) in place or withdraw. Please email [email protected] with your abstract number(s) with a YES or NO option for each.

    WANT TO UPDATE YOUR APPROVED ABSTRACT & KEEP AS THE SAME PRESENTATION TYPE?

    If you want to update your abstract content, you must update by no later than December 1, 2020. Updating will be available on the same form when your abstract was submitted. Please note your abstract will still be deemed accepted and will not undergo another evaluation process after updated.

    WANT TO UPDATE YOUR APPROVED ABSTRACT BUT HAVE CONSIDERED FOR A DIFFERENT PRESENTATION TYPE?

    You need to email [email protected] with your abstract(s) numbers to WITHDRAW from the 22nd Annual World Congress. From there, you can RESUBMIT an updated abstract on or before December 1, 2020 with your desired presentation type. Please note that your updated abstract will go through a FULL evaluation process with acceptance not guaranteed.

    WANT TO SUBMIT NEW ABSTRACTS?

    With the postponement of the Congress comes the ability to submit new abstracts of all types. Details on when and how to submit will be made available shortly. The submission deadline will be December 1, 2020.

    WHAT ARE THE NEW CONGRESS DATES?

    ·       Wednesday 26th May 2021: IPOS Academy Workshops

    ·       Thursday 27th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day 1

    ·       Friday 28th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day 2

    ·       Saturday 29th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day 3

    The venue for the revised dates remains the same – International Conference Center, Kyoto.

    If you have any questions or comments, please direct to [email protected]


  • 11 May 2020 2:09 PM | John Chagnon (Administrator)
    • The everyday life of all people continues to change further from normal to extraordinary around the globe. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be of great concern to all and has been the subject of much ongoing discussion between the members of the IPOS 2020 World Congress Scientific committee and the IPOS Board of Directors.

      For the second time, we have decided to postpone the Congress. All parties involved agree that it is not safe or viable to hold in 2020. As a result, the 22nd Annual IPOS World Congress will be held in Kyoto, Japan in May 2021 as per the dates listed below. These dates reflect the nature of the Congress, which is a shared initiative between IPOS and the Japanese Psycho-Oncology Society and takes into account the venue availability in Japan.


    • ·       Wednesday 26th May 2021: IPOS Academy Workshops
    • ·       Thursday 27th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day1
    • ·       Friday 28th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day2
    • ·       Saturday 29th May 2021: IPOS 2021 Day3

    The venue for the revised dates remains the same – International Conference Center, Kyoto.

    All registered delegates, invited speakers, and sponsors will be sent additional details within 30 days shortly. For all bookings/payments made through the meeting website (registration, hotel, workshops, dinner, content capture), delegates will be given the option to have these bookings automatically transferred to the May 2021 meeting or to request a refund. All accepted abstracts are being honored for the May 2021 meeting. Individuals will also have the option to update or withdraw submitted abstract.

    Please change or cancel any travel or hotel arrangements you have made independently. Most airlines are currently waiving change fees and providing a full credit for tickets that normally do not allow changes.

    Member of the IPOS Board are enormously grateful to our colleagues from the Japanese Psycho-Oncology Society who have been both responsive and gracious throughout our discussions. Our deepest concerns are for our colleagues whose personal and professional lives have been impacted by this pandemic and our ongoing support for them, which I know will be offered by our IPOS community, is so important.

    If you have any questions or comments, please direct to [email protected]

    Stay safe and see you in 2021!

    Jane Turner, MBBS,PhD, FRANZCP
    President, International Psycho-Oncology Society

    Yosuke Uchitomi, MD, PhD
    Chair, 22nd World Congress of Psycho-Oncology


  • 24 Apr 2020 11:19 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    During these difficult COVID – 19 times, IPOS remains committed to promoting the highest standards of comprehensive cancer care. More than ever, we are united in our mission to promote global excellence in psychosocial care for people affected by cancer through partnerships, research, public policy, advocacy and education.

    We wish to highlight the additional burden brought to patients with cancer worldwide of having to cope with a pandemic. Patients and families are frightened about not receiving proper treatment as resources are stratified according to priorities. Isolation directives to mitigate infection risk means some patients cannot access supports to address important physical, psychological, social, and spiritual needs. There are fears about contracting COVID-19 when one’s immunity system is already low. Patients struggling with common physical symptoms related to their cancer or treatments may be frightened of having contracted the virus. They can be afraid of coming to the hospital, now perceived as a potential risk for their health. They may present later for conditions requiring immediate attention. They may not be able to be accompanied during treatments and important surgical procedures. Healthcare may be fragmented, as many disciplines work from home and treatments are outsourced to community settings. Patients that are hospitalized may not be allowed to have visitors, and those at the end-of-life may not be visited by their circle of family and friends, as travel bans, and hospital restrictions, prevail. Some patients may feel that they are abandoned as they are no longer benefitting from the previous reassuring structure of the oncology setting. Others feel normalized as now everyone is socially isolated and staying at home. When they had previously considered themselves as different, being at home is now a new normal, with its de-stigmatizing effect.

    We need to flexibly develop services to respond to the complex needs of patients throughout their cancer trajectory from discovery of symptoms to end-of-life care and bereavement. We have seen a rapid uptake of telemedicine and tele-conferencing allowing for needed cancer care and follow-up of oncology patients and their families. Patients and their families can now have access to cancer care from their very homes. Guidelines for telemedicine and tele-conferencing can be found here: https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/practice/telepsychiatry/blog/apa-resources-on-telepsychiatry-and-covid-19

    As patients are presenting less to the hospital, it becomes crucial to develop new means of identifying their distress. There have been multiple initiatives of patient portals allowing for screening for distress at a distance, which appears particularly important in our pandemic times to make sure needs are met. Guidelines for screening for distress can be found here:

    http://www.virtualhospice.ca/Assets/Distress-%20CPAC_20150713161546.pdf

    https://jnccn.org/view/journals/jnccn/17/10/article-p1229.xml

    Cancer care needs to be equitable. Face-to-face contact via telemedicine and screening for distress via a portal are not available for patients that do not have a computer or internet access, which may create further inequities in symptom management, functional rehabilitation, psychosocial care, and survival. We need to develop innovative solutions and services to fill this important gap in partnership with companies and other stakeholders.

    Healthcare providers have needed to readjust to a number of stressful changes in the organization of their workforce and of the healthcare system. Caring for COVID-19 patients, on the backdrop of a system with limited resources to protect them, creates a stressful context fertile to burnout and vicarious traumatisation. More than even, healthcare settings need to develop ways to nurture their workforce. Guidelines for healthcare workers ca be found here: https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2020/02/coronavirus-and-mental-health-taking-care-of-ourselves-during-infectious-disease-outbreaks

    For resources on stress and coping during the coronavirus crisis, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/managing-stress-anxiety.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-ncov%2Fprepare%2Fmanaging-stress-anxiety.html

    For resources on caring for children, please visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/children.html

    Other resources:


    Dr. Melissa Henry
    Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Oncology, McGill University
    FRQS Clinician-Scientist, McGill University

    Director, Psycho-Oncology Research Group

    Lady-Davis Institute for Medical Research, Jewish General Hospital

  • 9 Apr 2020 3:01 PM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    IN THIS ISSUE:

    1. Psychological distress in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients: an observational study comparing those at high risk of hereditary cancer with those of unknown risk

    2. Shared experiences of diagnosis and treatment of young-onset colorectal cancer: a patient-oriented qualitative study

    3. Exploring the knowledge and attitudes about cancer of older adults in Barcelona, Spain

    4. Caregivers’ perception of psychosocial issues of pediatric patients with osteosarcoma: an exploratory study

    FIND OUT MORE BY GOING TO https://journals.lww.com/jporp/pages/currenttoc.aspx


  • 12 Mar 2020 11:18 AM | John Chagnon (Administrator)

    The COVID-19 pandemic is of concern to all and has been the subject of much discussion between the members of the IPOS 2020 World Congress Scientific committee and the IPOS Board.

    We have decided to postpone the meeting which was to be held in Kyoto from 16-19 June 2020 until August 2020 as per the dates listed below.  These dates reflect the nature of the Congress which is a shared initiative between IPOS and the Japanese Psycho-Oncology Society and take into account specific religious and holiday observances in Japan.

    • Tuesday, August 11: Joint Meeting 2020 Day 1 & IPOS Board Meeting
    • Wednesday, August 12: IPOS 2020 Day 1 & Joint Meeting Day 2   
    • Thursday, August 13: IPOS 2020 Day 2
    • Friday, August 14: IPOS 2020 Day 3
    • Saturday, August 15: Academy Workshops

    The venue for the revised dates remains the same – International Conference Centre, Kyoto

    It is not possible to reschedule the Congress in Kyoto to any other time because the venue is not available. Rescheduling rather than cancelling means that IPOS does not face a financial penalty.

    The health and wellbeing of our members and the patients and communities to which they would return after the Congress is uppermost in our decision-making. We recognise that the situation is evolving rapidly and will maintain vigilance as we move towards our re-scheduled meeting in August.

    Member of the IPOS Board are enormously grateful to our colleagues from the Japanese Psycho-Oncology Society who have been both responsive and gracious throughout our discussions. Our deepest concerns are for our colleagues whose personal and professional lives have been impacted by this pandemic and our ongoing support for them, which I know will be offered by our IPOS community, is so important.

    For more information, please go to http://ipos2020.com/


  • 5 Mar 2020 10:55 AM | Deleted user

    The 4th International Conference on Integrative Oncology, ICIO2020, Kochi

    The Psycho-Oncology session was a collective work of International Conference on Integrative Oncology (ICIO) 2020, International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) and Global Homeopathy Foundation (GHF).

    It was the first time ever that a psycho-oncology session included into this international conference with over 700 attendees and 50 speakers.

    This session was coordinated by Dr. Veenavani Nallepalli, IPOS member.

    Ozan BAHCIVAN from Turkey, the Former Director of IPOS who joined the enlightened the audience on what role Psycho-Oncology plays in cancer care and also the evolution of it in medical history and also the involvement and works of IPOS. He also highlighted that we don't treat the disease but the patient as a whole, emphasising on holistic approach and also spoke about the forthcoming IPOS congress that is to be held from 16-19 June 2020 in Kyoto, Japan. 

    The session also included a video message by Dr. Jane Turner, IPOS President addressing the Congress about various domains of Psycho-social aspects of cancer care and the need of services and about the extensive works of IPOS.

    Dr. E. Vidhubala, Director of Nellai Cancer Centre emphasised on the need of early detection and screening in Primary and secondary health care to Prevent cancer. She also discussed the continuum-gaps of Cancer care.

    Dr. Surendran Veeraiah, HOD, Psycho-Oncology department, Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai gave the complete picture of Psycho-social aspects of Cancer care and also the need of Assessments like Pain and Distress which helps a lot in the treatment modality. He also discussed on the concerns of the caregivers and how Psycho Oncology is helpful to tackle it.


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