Brief Report on the IPOS Academy at the Inaugural African Psycho-oncology Association [APOA] Conference and Sixth Psycho-oncology Society of Nigeria [POSON] National Conference and Workshop 25-29th July 2016, Calabar, Nigeria, report from Chioma Asuzu.

The opening ceremony at the University of Calabar Conference Centre was attended by the University and Teaching Hospital management team or their representatives, as well as the representative of the World Health Organization, Dr Thompson Igbu and Professor Edisua H Itam, deputy provost of the College of Health Sciences of the university who represented the Vice Chancellor.

The keynote address was presented by Prof Owoidoho Udofia on ‘Cancer Management: Venturing Beyond the Tumor’. The academy and conference was declared open by Professor Itam on behalf of the Vice Chancellor. Prof Lucio Luzzatto gave the first lecture on ‘Cancer diagnosis and cancer prognosis: communication between patients and carers’. The conference and workshop for the remaining two days was held at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital and included workshops on Art Psychotherapy (facilitator Dr Paola Luzzatto and Building Psycho-oncology Services and Models – Application to the Nigerian and African context (facilitator Dr Chioma Asuzu).

The POSON Annual General Meeting was held and the 7th POSON National Conference and Workshop will be held Lagos on the last week in May 2017. The APOA General Meeting was held which apart from confirming the interim officers (as the substantive officers) agreed to hold the next APOA Congress in Kenya in 2018.