Invited Speakers

William Breitbart, MD, Chief, Psychiatry Service, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Measuring Outcomes: Existential and Specific Psychosocial Issues
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 9:15 am to 10:00 am
Session: P2

William Breitbart, MD, is Chief of the Psychiatry Service, Vice-Chairman and Attending Psychiatrist, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.   Dr. Breitbart is also Attending Psychiatrist, Pain & Palliative Care Service, Department of Medicine, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He is currently President of the International Psycho-oncology Society, and was the 2009 recipient of the Arthur Sutherland Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Psycho-oncology Society. Dr Breitbart received the 2003 Research Award from the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine, and the 2007 Donald Oken Award from the American Psychosomatics Society. Dr. Breitbart has published extensively on the psychiatric complications of cancer and AIDS with approximately 100 peer review publications and 200 chapters and review papers. In addition, Dr. Breitbart has edited 7 textbooks. Since 2003, Dr. Breitbart has been Editor-in-Chief, of Cambridge University Press’ international palliative care journal entitled, “Palliative & Supportive Care”.

Harvey Chochinov, OM MD, PhD, FRSC, Director, Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit

Measuring Outcomes: Existential and Specific Psychosocial Issues
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 9:15 am to 10:00 am Session: P2

Dr. Harvey Max Chochinov is a Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Manitoba and Director of the Manitoba Palliative Care Research Unit, CancerCare Manitoba. His publications addressing psychosocial dimensions of palliation have helped define core-competencies and standards of end-of-life care. He holds the only Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and is a member of the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. He is a recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal and his provinces' highest honour, the Order of Manitoba, for his work in palliative care. He is the Chair for the Canadian Virtual Hospice, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He was the 2008 recipient of the National Cancer Institute and Canadian Cancer Society O. Harold Warwick Prize. In addition to over 150 publications, he is the Co- Editor of the Handbook of Psychiatry in Palliative Medicine, published by Oxford University Press, and the Journal Palliative and Support Care, published by Cambridge University Press.

Ursula M. Courtney, RGN, M MedSc, MBA

The New Reality of Community Nursing in Cancer Care
Friday, 28 May 2010, 9:30 am to 10:00 am
Session: P9

Ursula Courtney is a nurse who has worked in cancer nursing for over twenty five years. During that time she has held many positions including Director of Services at ARC Cancer Support Centre in Dublin where she played a major role in promoting the extended role of nursing in relation to psychosocial cancer care in Ireland. She presents lectures regularly to patients, carers, nurses and other health care professionals both nationally and internationally and has been the recipient of several awards for her work.

Ursula first presented her work to IPOS in Banff in 2003 and has been very active in the area of psycho-oncology in Ireland, being one of the founder members of the Irish Psycho-Oncology Group and is the current Vice-Chairman.

Ursula has won many national and international awards for her work in the area of cancer care. Most recently in 2008, as well as winning a national Special Initiative Award, Ursula was honoured to receive the Robert Tiffany Lectureship awarded by the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care (ISNCC) and delivered her lecture in Singapore in August 2009.  As well as writing and researching Ursula completed a lecture tour of Australia in 2009 and was awarded her M.B.A. from Dublin City University. She lectures regularly at Dublin universities and continues to work with many national and international bodies promoting best practice for people affected by cancer.

Betty Ferrell, PhD, MA, FAAN, FPCN, Professor, Nursing Research and Education, City of Hope

Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care as a Dimension of Palliative Care
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm
Session: P3

Dr. Betty Ferrell has been in oncology nursing for 32 years and has focused her clinical expertise and research in pain management, quality of life, and palliative care.  Dr. Ferrell is a Professor and Research Scientist at the City of Hope National Medical Center in Los Angeles, California.  She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing and she has over 300 publications in peer-reviewed journals and texts.  She is Principal Investigator of a Program Project funded by the National Cancer Institute on “Palliative Care for Quality of Life and Symptom concerns in Lung Cancer” and she is also Principal Investigator of the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) project.  She directs several other funded projects related to end-of-life care and QOL issues. 

Dr. Ferrell is a member of the National Cancer Policy Forum and was Chairperson of the National Consensus Project for Quality Palliative Care.  She served on the National Quality Forum Committee for Preferred Practices in palliative care.  She is also the chairperson of the Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative.  She has authored eight books  - Cancer Pain Management (1995), a text on Suffering (1995), Pain in the Elderly (1996) and the Textbook of Palliative Nursing Care (2006) published by Oxford University Press (3rd edition in press for 2010).  She is also co-author of the text - The Nature of Suffering and the Goals of Nursing published in 2008 by Oxford University Press and Improving the Quality of Spiritual Care in Palliative Care (in press 2010).   Dr. Ferrell also completed a Masters degree in Theology, Ethics and Culture from Claremont Graduate University in 2007.

Margaret Fitch, RN, PhD, Head, Oncology Nursing and Supportive Care, Psychosocial & Behavioural Oncology, Toronto Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre

Person-Centered Cancer Care: Making the Vision a Reality
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 3:45 pm to 4:15 pm
Session: P4

Margaret I Fitch RN, PhD holds the positions ofHead Oncology Nursing and Co-Director Patient and Family Support Program at the Odette Cancer Centre, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto. She is an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Nursing and School of graduate Studies at the University of Toronto. Currently, Dr. Fitch is Chair of the Cancer Journey Action Group of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer. This group is providing the national leadership to rebalance the cancer system toward more person-centered care delivery. Dt. Fitch has held leadership positions nationally and internationally and has an extensive research interest and experience in documenting patient experiences and perspectives about the cancer journey.

Susan Folkman, PhD, Professor Emeritus, UCSF

Hope, Meaning, and Coping
Friday, 28 May 2010, 12:00 pm to 12:45 pm
Session: P10

Susan Folkman received her PhD from the University of California at Berkeley in 1979, where she remained working with Richard Lazarus on stress and coping research until 1988, when she moved to the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and began her program of caregiver research. In 2001 she was appointed Director of the UCSF Osher Center for Integrative Medicine. She was appointed Professor of Medicine in 1990 and named the Osher Foundation Distinguished Professor of Integrative Medicine in 2001. In 2009, Dr. Folkman became Professor Emeritus at UCSF.

Dr Folkman is internationally recognized for her theoretical and empirical contributions to the field of psychological stress and coping. While at UC Berkeley, she co-authored Stress, Appraisal, and Coping with Richard Lazarus, which has been cited more than 14,000 times.  Her work at UCSF over the past 20 years has focused on stress and coping with serious illness, caregiving and bereavement.

Dr. Folkman’s research has been funded by the NIH.  She has served on the National Advisory Mental Health Council (2000 – 2004) and serves currently on the National Advisory Council for the National Center on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) (2010-2014).  She has served as a chair or member of various NIH study sections and NCCAM committees. From 2004 – 2007 she served as chair of the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine and in 2006 chaired the Organizing Committee for the first North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine.

Pierre Gagnon, MD, FRCPC, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, L’Hôtel-Dieu de Québec- Psycho-oncologie

Measuring Outcomes: Existential and Specific Psychosocial Issues
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 9:15 am to 10:00 am
Session: P2

Dr. Pierre Gagnon is a Psychiatrist specialized in Psycho-oncology practicing at the CHUQ - Hôtel-Dieu de Québec and at the Maison Michel-Sarrazin, Professor and researcher at the Cancerology Research Center of Laval University. He is Board-certified in Psychosomatic Medicine and Geriatric Psychiatry by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He leads a multidisciplinary research team in Palliative Care funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. His main research interests are existential psychotherapy and cancer-related delirum. He teaches regularly on diffent aspects of psycho-oncology and palliative care.

Patricia A. Ganz, MD, Professor of Health Services and Medicine, Department of Health Services, UCLA School of Public Health

Measuring Outcomes: Physical and Quality of Life Issues
Thursday, 27 May 2010, 8:30 am to 9:15 am
Session: P1

Dr. Patricia Ganz is a medical oncologist and Professor of Medicine and Professor of Health Services in the UCLA Schools of Medicine & Public Health, where she is also the Associate Director for Population Sciences at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Ganz’s clinical activities include directing the High Risk Program in the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center, as well as leading the UCLA-LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence.  Much of her research has been focused on the study of quality-of-life outcomes in cancer and other chronic diseases. She is a leader in the integration of quality-of-life assessment in clinical trials, especially focused on the prevention and treatment of breast cancer.  Current research in her laboratory is examining the biobehavioral mechanisms underlying fatigue and cognitive dysfunction in breast cancer survivors. She is involved in national policy activities related to the quality of cancer care, specifically focused on cancer survivors. She recently completed service on the NCI Board of Scientific Advisors and on the ASCO Board of Directors.  In October 2007, Dr. Ganz was elected to membership in the Institute of Medicine.

Dr. Patrice Guex, Professor in psychiatry and in psycho-social medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Chief of the Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital

The Person-Centred Care Improvement and Established Communication Skills Training for Nurses and Oncologists in Switzerland
Thursday May 27, 2010, 4:15 to 4:45 p.m.
Session: P5

Patrice Guex has the benefit of being trained as an internist and a psychiatrist. He is Professor in psychiatry and in psycho-social medicine at the Faculty of Medicine of Lausanne, chief of the of the General Psychiatry Service of the University Hospital and of the Department of Psychiatry of Lausanne. Beside a clinical activity as a psychiatrist/psychotherapist and a supervisor he is involved in various psycho-social research projects concerning the physician-patient relationship, psycho-oncology, AIDS, migration and the interface of psychiatry and somatic illness, such as in neurological diseases. He is active in these various fields, on a national and international level, particularly as an expert and consultant for the development of psychiatric liaison services.

Mary Johnson, MA, Chaplain, Assistant Professor of Oncology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine

The Spiritually Dynamic Nature of Hope: Keeping the Lamp Lighted
Saturday, 29 May 2010, 9:15 am to 10:00 am
Session: P13

Chaplain Mary E. Johnson is a hopeful person.  She has been a hospital chaplain at the Mayo Clinic for over 30 years.  She shows up for work every day choosing to be hopeful.  She works primarily with women with gynecologic cancers, individuals and couples suffering perinatal loss, and persons with infertility.  Chaplain Johnson also pursues her research interests with hope as she explores the mediating effect of spiritual well-being in coping and adaptation in the setting of ovarian cancer.  She is an award-winning educator and speaks internationally on end-of-life topics.

Suzanne O’Brien, MA, Program Director, Executive Director, Hope & Cope, Jewish General Hospital

Separate and Joined: A Unique Partnership Between Community- and Hospital-Based Cancer Support Services
Friday, 28 May 2010, 9:00 am to 9:30 am
Session: P7

Suzanne O'Brien is Executive Director of Hope & Cope, a community support organization for cancer patients and their families, located at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal and its community Wellness Centre. She is a social worker from Melbourne, Australia with more than twenty five years experience in community and hospital settings, facilitating self-help groups, training volunteers and staff and administration of programs for patients and families.

In her present role with Hope & Cope, she has responsibility for programs across the cancer continuum and for training the more than 350 volunteers who work in the program.  Suzanne has been active on many hospital and community committees and working groups looking at community education and volunteer standards in oncology and palliative care.  She is a founding member of the Canadian Psychosocial Oncology Partners network of community programs and has presented at international conferences on  volunteer training  in the area of psychosocial support for cancer patients and their families, the development of peer-support programs and strategies for coping with professional caregiver loss.  Suzanne is a member of the McGill Council on Palliative Care and is the co-author of a chapter Volunteers working within a tertiary hospital palliative care service in Doyle, D. (Ed.) Volunteers in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Handbook for Coordinators of Volunteers. Oxford University Press, 2002.

Darius Razavi, MD, PhD, Psychosomatic and Psycho-Oncology Research Unit, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Patient's and Relatives' Distress and Hope: Optimizing Communication in the Context of Uncertainty
Saturday, 29 May 2010, 8:30 am to 9:15 am
Session: P12

Darius Razavi, MD, PhD, is psychiatrist, Professor of Psychosomatic and Psycho-oncology at the “Université Libre de Bruxelles” and Head of the “Psycho-oncology and Supportive Care Clinic” of the Jules Bordet Institute, Cancer Center of the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Brussels-Belgium). His main research interest is psycho-oncology (funded by the Belgian Fond National de la Recherche Scientifique). His research focus in particular on the screening and management of patients distress and on the efficacy of communication skills training for physicians and nurses. He is the author of numerous research papers and of a book entitled “ Précis de Psycho-oncologie” (Masson, Paris, 2008). He is also the founding member and member of numerous scientific societies.

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