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Psycho-Oncology News from around the WorldNews ArchivesIPOS Now Accepting Nominations for 2010 Awards IPOS is now accepting nominations for the Arthur M Sutherland Award, Bernard Fox Memorial Award, Noemi Fisman Award for Lifetime Clinical Excellence and Hiroomi Kawano New Investigator Award. Nominations are due 1 February 2010. See the Awards Page for details. IPOS Endorses Distress as the 6th Vital Sign in OncologyAt the IPOS 2009 Board Meeting in Vienna, members unanimously endorsed the concept that Distress be named the 6th Vital Sign in Oncology. In routine medial practice Vital Signs are utilized by health professionals in order to assess basic functioning. Vital signs are an essential part of patient’s case presentation and generally include: Body Temperature, Pulse (or heart rate), Blood pressure, and Respiratory rate. In 1999, due to the significant impact on patients, Pain was endorsed as the 5th Vital Sign. Prevalence rates of Distress in cancer patient populations have been well documented in the literature. The impact of distress on cancer patients, families and the community is a primary concern for clinicians, scientists, educators, and IPOS. Distress as the 6th Vital Sign was first endorsed by the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control in 2004. The concept of naming Distress as the 6th Vital Sign has gained much support and has been published in Journal of Clinical Oncology, the Journal of Psycho-Oncology, and the Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network to name but a few. IPOS believes that endorsing Distress, as the 6th Vital Sign will raise awareness of Distress as an essential component of the patient experience and will act as a call to action for care providers and the health care system as a whole. Barry D. Bultz June 20, 2009 A New View, After Diagnosis Experimental Group Therapy Aims to Help Cancer Patients Find Meaning in Face of Mortality IPOS President William Breitbart MD is featured in a 16 July 2009 article in the Wall Street Journal Health Section. 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing (ICCN) The International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) is pleased to announce that its 16th International Conference on Cancer Nursing (ICCN), the premier international educational opportunity for cancer nurses, will be held in the vibrant city of Atlanta, Georgia, USA, from Sunday, 7 March – Thursday, 11 March 2010. The theme of the 16th ICCN will be "Enhancing Knowledge, Promoting Quality". ISNCC, officially formed in 1984, is the international voice of oncology nursing, dedicated to the protection and preservation of health and the relief of cancer-related sickness through the provision of education, research, and international networking opportunities among cancer nursing groups and individuals. ISNCC is the only federation of national cancer nursing societies, oncology institutions and individual cancer nursing professionals. With over 60 member groups, representing 42 countries, ISNCC represents over 80,000 cancer nursing professionals globally. ISNCC is a non-governmental member of the World Health Organization, United Nations, International Union Against Cancer, and the International Council of Nurses. Registration For further information on the 16th ICCN, please visit the ICCN website or contact the ISNCC Secretariat at +1.604.630.5516 or info@isncc.org. Access to Pain Treatment as a Human Right (from the Human Rights Watch) The Human Rights Watch has published a 47-page report entitled, "Please, do not make us suffer any more..." Access to Pain Treatment as a Human Right. The report states that countries could significantly improve access to pain medications by addressing the causes of their poor availability. These often include the failure to put in place functioning supply and distribution systems; absence of government policies to ensure their availability; insufficient instruction for healthcare workers; excessively strict drug-control regulations; and fear of legal sanctions among healthcare workers. The report's website hosts PDF versions of the report and recommendations in English, French, Russian and Spanish. Sign the UICC World Cancer Declaration IPOS has signed the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) World Cancer Declaration, a global plan in the fight against cancer that, if implemented, will help to save lives and make a difference. The World Cancer Declaration 2008 was developed by UICC, adopted by the World Cancer Summit 2008, and endorsed by the World Cancer Congress 2008. To sign the declaration as an individual or an organization, please visit the World Cancer Declaration website. To read the World Cancer Declaration 2008, please click here. Obituary Professor von Kerekjarto was born in Szeged, Hungaria. She grew up in Budapest and received education and training in psychology, biology, medicine, and pharmacology at the University of Budapest. In 1958, she came to Germany, where she graduated with a Master’s Degree in Psychology at the University of Hamburg. In 1961, Professor von Kerekjarto completed her Ph.D. on multiple sclerosis. She continued her academic career at the Institute of Psychology at the University of Hamburg. In 1961, she sustained her work and research at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine within the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. Professor von Kerekjarto served as director of the Department of Medical Psychology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf between 1975 and 1990 as the first female chair of Medical Psychology in Germany. During the seventies and eighties, she established one of the most recognized Departments for Medical Psychology in Germany. Under the auspices of Prof von Kerekjarto, the first curriculum of medical psychology was developed, which had a strong and long-lasting influence on the structure and implementation of medical training in Germany. With her excellent research scientific background and particular research and clinical focus on psycho-oncology, she raised numerous funded research projects about psychosocial support for cancer patients and the role of the family in cancer care. Her name is closely connected with the development of psycho-oncology in Germany. Further research priorities of Prof. von Kerekjarto included the psychotherapeutic support and rehabilitation for patients with chronic psychosomatic illness. She retired from teaching in 1990, but continued her research, writing, publication, and service activities. Prof. von Kerekjarto’s inspiring career in the field of medical psychology and psycho-oncology brought her worldwide recognition. She was invited as a guest lecturer at Harvard Medical School, at Columbia University, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and at the University of California. She was honoured by becoming a member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Prof. von Kerekjarto was president of the German Society of Medical Psychology. She was founding member and member of the scientific board of the European Psycho-oncological Society. She was founding member and president of International Psycho-Oncology Society as well as the recipient of the Arthur M. Sutherland Award in 1991. Prof. von Kerekjarto possessed a special gift, the ability to fascinate people with her visions, ideas and her words. She was able to inspire people, and to tie them into common goals. In her work for psycho-oncology she made highly constructive use of this gift to the benefit of her students, colleagues and friends. We owe her a lot. Uwe Koch PhD, MD;
Hamburg, 16 March 2009
Global Metastatic Breast Cancer Advocacy Working Group Consensus Report Now Available The global MBC Consensus Report prioritizes the following three areas for immediate action:
The MBC Advocacy Working Group and Consensus Report were established with sponsorship from Pfizer Oncology. Read the global MBC Advocacy Working Group Consensus Report. European Cancer Specialists Mandate for Change: Better Emotional Support
and Resources for Lung Cancer Patients
20th World Congress of Psychosomatic Medicine International Union Against Cancer Launches New Companion Website IPOS and ESO Release Additional Online Lectures! INSPIRE booklets are now available! IPOS
and Roche Partner to INSPIRE Awareness of Psycho-Oncology IPOS invites bids on the location of future World Congresses! See the Meetings page for more information. UICC announces a Global Call to Stop Cervical Cancer. Read more... Online Psycho-Oncology Lectures Now Available in JAPANESE IPOS Membership Benefits Include Membership in the World Psychiatric
Association's Psycho-Oncology Group |
Prof. Dr. Margit von Kerekjarto, University of Hamburg, Germany, professor emeritus of medical psychology, passed away on March 5, 2009, in Hamburg after a long period of severe illness.
Berlin, Germany, 24 November 2008. 
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