Global patient advocates gather for 6th Southeast Asia Breast Cancer Symposium

This is a press release from the ICANSERVE Foundation.

Patient advocates from across the globe gather on September 23 to 25, for the 6th Southeast Asia Breast Cancer Symposium (SEABCS), to be held online and co-hosted for the first time in the Philippines by local nonprofit ICANSERVE Foundation, Inc. and US-based Global Focus on Cancer (GFC).

With the support of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), this year’s conference theme is “Designing a Better Future for the Global Breast Cancer Community.” The goal is to improve quality of life for breast cancer survivors by enhancing the continuum of care, from prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, to palliative care, survivorship and hospice.

Data and best practices will be shared to push for positive change in the health systems of different countries. It is also an opportunity for the region to continually find common ground for collaboration. Register now at seabcsphilippines.ph.

September 23 sessions

HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan, former president of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), will deliver the opening address at 1 pm on the first day, September 23, to be followed by an ASEAN regional situationer by epidemiologist Isabelle Soerjomataram of the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Participants may then choose either of two virtual rooms to learn “What’s New in the Region?”

Room 1 will be moderated by Azrul Mohd Khalib, founder and chief executive officer of the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, with speakers for Vietnam (Carolyn Taylor, founder and president of GFC), Malaysia (Dr. Nirmala Bhoo Pathy of Universiti Malaya) and Myanmar (Dr. Rose Htun of Shwe Yaung Hnin Si Cancer Foundation).

Room 2 will be moderated by Carmen Auste, chief executive officer of Cancer Warriors Foundation, with speakers for the Global Breast Cancer Initiative (Dr. Ben Anderson of the World Health Organization), the Philippines (Dr. Cecille Montales of ICANSERVE) and Indonesia (Mrs. Yuli Zaki Iskandar of Family Welfare and Empowerment at Tangerang Regency).

The first day will end with the ASCO-sponsored session, “Doing What’s Best for your Patients: Putting the Latest Findings from the 2022 ASCO Annual Meeting into Practice in LMIC (low to middle-income countries) Settings”. This will be moderated by Dr. Roselle de Guzman, chair of ASCO’s Asia Pacific Regional Council with speakers Dr. Julie Gralow, Dr. Don Dizon, Dr. Mylin Torres and Dr. Jane Brock, all recognized as leading clinical oncologists practicing in the U.S.

September 24 sessions

Dr. Paulyn Ubial, former Health Secretary of the Philippines, will deliver the keynote address at 1 pm on the second day of SEABCS (September 24), after which participants may choose any of three virtual rooms for break-out sessions covering: Room 1 – surgical vs. non-surgical treatment; intraoperative radiotherapy; personalized medicine; and social media advocacy; Room 2 – cash: the other big c; cancer markers; homegrown innovations; and palliative care; and Room 3 – managing side effects; advanced breast cancer; food and cancer; and future-proofing your organization.

Filipino advertising guru Marlon Rivera will speak at the session, “Unleashing the Power of Social Media in Your Advocacy,” with journalist-turned-entrepreneur Ces Drilon as moderator. Pat Garcia-Gonzalez, co-founder and chief executive officer of 25-year old The Max Foundation will share her insights about future-proofing organizations together with leadership and talent development expert and businessman Ardy Abello, with ESG (environment, social and governance) consultant Max Ventura as moderator.

Sam Jackman, co-founder and director of U.K.-based Boost Innovations Ltd., will talk about her unique prostheses in the session on homegrown innovations together with Manta Cares founder Samira Daswani, ICANSERVE co-founder and chairman Crisann Celdran, inthepinkph.com creator Mikael Celdran, and freelance designer Minnie Pangilinan, with Women’s Worldwide Web co-founder Tish Valles as moderator.

September 25 sessions

Sessions begin at 10 am on the last day (September 25). Breakout sessions cover the following topics: Room 1 – surgical management; and artificial intelligence (AI) in health care; Room 2 – post-treatment care for breast health; and a call for ASEAN unity; and Room 3 – advocacy; and national cancer control plans. Adam Yala from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will present a mammography-based model for predicting breast cancer risk in the session on AI, with together with Hurone AI co-founder Dr. Kingsley Ndoh, with news anchor and TV host David Celdran as moderator.

The symposium will end with Stories of Hope to be moderated by Filipino actress, writer and director Bibeth Orteza. Read about the speakers seabcsphilippines.ph/speakers-profile and check out which sessions you want to join at seabcsphilippines.ph/summit-schedule.

SEABCS is a gathering of the region’s cancer survivors, patient advocates, health professionals, researchers and policy makers to exchange ideas, and to share successful strategies and the latest in breast cancer, as well as the many challenges that face the breast cancer community on every level.

“We have over 50 speakers from 15 countries, including speakers from outside the region—USA, Europe and India—plus more than 30 moderators and panels of reactors,” says ICANSERVE founding president Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala.

ICANSERVE is a Philippines (Pasig)-based nonprofit that advocates early breast cancer detection and access to timely and correct treatment. GFC is a U.S. (New York)-based nonprofit that aims to increase cancer awareness, decrease stigma and encourage early detection and treatment by expanding access to information about cancer through a global network between people diagnosed with cancer, their care partners and medical professionals.

All virtual learning sessions at this year’s SEABCS will be open to all, and registration is free of charge at seabcsphilippines.ph.

– Rappler.com