I Am Not a Statistic. The Human Element of the Beating Cancer Plan

European Cancer Organisation Survivorship and Quality of Life Network Co-Chair

Dr. Csaba L. Dégi is Board Member, at the European Cancer Organisation and Survivorship and... Dr. Csaba L. Dégi is Board Member, at the European Cancer Organisation and Survivorship and Quality of Life Network Co-Chair, an Associate Professor with habilitation and researcher at the Babeș - Bolyai University, Faculty of Sociology and Social Work in Cluj Napoca, Romania. He is Executive Secretary at the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) and involved with the Association of Oncology Social Work (AOSW), from the USA. He is a member of the Research Board of the National College of Social Workers from Romania and was a member of the Committee for Social Work and Support in Oncology at the Romanian Ministry of Health. Since 2001, he has been working with cancer patients, professionals, and oncology institutions. Based on this experience, he has developed the APSCO® research project – www.psychooncology.ro. APSCO - Assessment of Psycho-Social and Communication needs in Oncology – is the first multi-center study on psychosocial aspects of cancer in Romania. He is the founder and president of APSCO, the Romanian Association for Services and Communication in Oncology. Read more Show less

Luzia Travado, PhD, MSc, ClinPsych, is clinical health psychologist specialized in... Luzia Travado, PhD, MSc, ClinPsych, is clinical health psychologist specialized in Psycho-oncology. She is clinician and researcher of Psycho-Oncology at the Champalimaud Clinical Centre, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal (2011-). She has a career of more than 35 yrs initiated at Hospital S. José - Central Lisbon Hospital Centre, where she was Chief of Clinical Psychology and has pioneered health psychology by developing psychosocial programs for clinical populations with chronic conditions including cancer (1985-2012). She served as Adviser for the National Coordinator for Oncological Diseases in Portugal (2007-2011), contributed for the Nat’l Cancer Control Program, the Cancer Roundtable of the Portuguese EU Presidency (2007), and conducted a National Pilot Communication Skills Training Program for Oncologists; she represented Portugal at the European Partnership on Action Against Cancer (EPAAC, 2009-2014), and led the Psychosocial Oncology Action under this partnership. She has been actively participating since then in various European initiatives, conferences and projects regarding improvement of European cancer policies, profiling psycho-oncology and recommendations for the inclusion of psychosocial care in patients’ treatment to improve their outcomes (e.g., EPAAC, CANCON, European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC), European Guide for Quality National Cancer Control Programs, among others). Served as President of the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS: 2014-2017), currently President-Emeritus and was Chair of the IPOS World Congress of Psycho-Oncology held in Lisbon 2014. Founder and former president of the Viva Mulher Viva Association on breast cancer. She was cover story at Cancer World in the Nov-Dec 2011 issue. Member of the ESO Core Faculty team, and ESMO-Preceptorship programmes, she teaches psycho-oncology and communication skills. As a researcher she has been PI and also participating in various European (H2020 and other) and Int’l funded projects, as well as national funded ones. She has many scientific papers published in Int’l peer-review journals and book-chapters, having served as Specialty-editor for The Breast and Editorial Board member and reviewer for various scientific journals. Read more Show less

Markus Kosch, MD, is the head of Oncology Europe at Daiichi Sankyo. In this role, he leads the... Markus Kosch, MD, is the head of Oncology Europe at Daiichi Sankyo. In this role, he leads the medical affairs, market access and commercial organization of Daiichi Sankyo in the European countries. Dr Kosch has over 15 years` experience in the pharmaceutical industry, starting in Medical Affairs at Wyeth Pharmaceutical introducing the first mTOR inhibitor in oncology therapy and later at Pfizer leading the European teams preparing launches in hematology and in personalized therapy in lung cancer with molecular-targeted medicines as well as introducing the first CDK4,6 inhibitor in metastatic breast cancer. Before joining Daiichi Sankyo he led the global Immunooncology, kidney and lung cancer franchise at Pfizer. After studies as medical student that took him to Kings College London and the UCSF in San Francisco he obtained his medical degree at the University of Münster, Germany. He is a boarded expert in internal medicine and nephrology and practiced in internal medicine, intensive care, and oncology at the University Hospital Münster until 2005. He has published many peer-reviewed papers, reviews and book chapters and still teaches as Professor of Internal Medicine at the Medical School Münster. He is also a founding member of the “Vision Zero” oncology prevention initiative and think tank. Read more Show less

Why do certain people manage to stay focused even in difficult times while others are... Why do certain people manage to stay focused even in difficult times while others are overwhelmed? What do these people do differently and what can we learn from them? Martin Inderbitzin has been dealing with these questions for years, both as a neuroscientist and as a person affected by severe cancer. In 2016, he went on a trip around the world to find answers in his conversations with over 40 cancer survivors. He not only gained fascinating insights, but above all learned that the stories we tell ourselves are of central importance for our own understanding and dealing with a difficult situation. Based on his discovery, he started the storytelling project My Survival Story. The aim of the project, which has received international awards, is to inspire other people to better understand and rewrite their own story. In his mindset session, Martin explains how our brains produce stories and how we can actively change our perspective on these stories. In addition to practical examples from My Survival Story, Martin shows very practical methods that improve your own mindset over the long term. Martin studied neurobiology at the ETH Zurich and completed his dissertation at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra Barcelona on the subject of stress and emotions. He also studied film production at Blake College in London and worked for several years as a producer and filmmaker for digital media. His TEDx Talk “What I learned from Having Cancer” was seen by over 400,000 people. Today, Martin gives keynotes and workshops around the world on the subject of mindset and resilience. Since 2019, he has been working as a professional mindset coach for people and teams facing personal and professional challeges. Read more Show less

Matthew Loscalzo, L.C.S.W., APOS Fellow is an Executive Director, People & Enterprise... Matthew Loscalzo, L.C.S.W., APOS Fellow is an Executive Director, People & Enterprise Transformation Emeritus Professor Supportive Care Medicine, Professor Population Sciences at the City of Hope-National Medical Center. Until August 2021, Matthew J. Loscalzo was the Liliane Elkins Professor in Supportive Care Programs in the Department of Supportive Care Medicine and Professor in Department of Population Sciences. He is also the founding Executive Director of the Department of Supportive Care Medicine and the Administrative Director of the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center at the City of Hope-National Medical Center. Professor Loscalzo was the President of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society and the Association of Oncology Social Workers. Along with James Zabora, ScD, they created the first prospective universal clinical biopsychosocial screening program in the United States. Professor Loscalzo has held leadership positions at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Rebecca and John Moores Cancer Center at the UCSD and is now in his 14th year at City of Hope-National Medical Center. He has been a consultant to multiple major cancer organizations on how to build supportive care programs, implement new processes, enhance staff engagement and has developed a unique staff leadership model. In 2010, he received the Outstanding Education and Training Award Recipient from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society; 2014, the lifetime achievement award in clinical care with the Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence from the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS); 2015, the Jimmie Holland Life Time Leadership Award from the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS); 2016 Harold Benjamin Innovation Award, Cancer Support Community and 2017 the recipient of the Arthur M. Sutherland Lifetime Achievement in the Field of Psycho-Oncology (IPOS). He has been the PI and faculty on multiple funded training grants teaching health care professionals to build supportive care programs, comprehensive automated biopsychosocial screening programs and advanced cognitive behavioral skills. He is also on the editorial boards or a reviewer for a number of professional journals and has over 100 publications and 5 books. His clinical interests are gender-based medicine, strengths-based approaches to psychotherapies, pain management, problem-based distress screening and the creation of supportive care programs. Read more Show less

EUPATI fellow with significant experience in patient advocacy, patient education and service... EUPATI fellow with significant experience in patient advocacy, patient education and service provision in the field of cancer. Before joining Lymphoma Coalition in 2017, she had successfully held Patient and Public affairs roles in cancer charities in Spain since 2011, was appointed Board Member of ECPC from 2016 to 2017 and is currently member of the EHA´s European Affairs Committee, the ESMO Patient Advocacy Working Group and the EBMT Patient Advocacy Committee. She is also member of the GoCART Coalition and contributes to other projects at European level, as Harmony Alliance and Resilience. Natacha has worked at a national and European level with multi-stakeholder partnerships, educational groups, and she is deeply committed to improving the quality of life for patients. She has contributed with HTA processes and is frequently invited to provide the patient perspective in different scenarios. In addition to the role at EU level, she is currently member of the Institutional Working Group on the Plan to Access Advanced Therapies in the National Health System in Spain. Natacha holds a degree in Cancer Rehabilitation Through Exercise Referral. Read more Show less

Dr. Stein Kaasa's main research interests are: Clinical research in cancer care – including... Dr. Stein Kaasa's main research interests are: Clinical research in cancer care – including oncology, palliative care and symptom management. Translational research with emphasis on bridging the gap between the clinic and basic science including molecular biology, public health, organization, computer science and decision support systems. Several years of experience in planning, conducting and analysis of prospective controlled randomised and non-randomised single- and multicentre studies. Has published extensively as well as planned, organised and taught at university-based courses in clinical trial methodology, clinical decision-making, clinical oncology, translational research, patient-reported outcomes measures (PROMS), palliative care, public health and leadership. Recently, the European Palliative Care Research Centre (PRC) was refunded by the Norwegian Cancer Society. Stein Kaasa is the chair of this research initiative aiming at improving palliative patient care, including end of life care, through research of highest quality in an international setting. Professor Kaasa has published more than 500 articles and book chapters. He has authored the Nordic Textbook of Palliative Care and is co-author of the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine. Professor Kaasa advises many international journals – either as an advisory board member or as a reviewer. Read more Show less