The 2012 World Cancer Congress - August 27- 30 - Montréal host to the biggest gathering of international cancer control leaders

MONTREAL, Aug. 6, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Taking place in Canada for the first time in August 2012, the World Cancer Congress will bring together cancer leaders, cancer charities and advocates from around the world to learn from other experts, exchange knowledge and best practices, and network. 

This major event for the cancer control community will help keep cancer at the forefront of the global health agenda. Organised by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and hosted by Fondation québécoise du cancer, McGill University and the Centre universitaire de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), the Congress is expected to attract more than 3,000 participants and world leaders in the fight against cancer from over 120 countries. Stakeholders from across Canada will join participants from Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, Jordan, Russia, UK, the US, and many other nations, pursuing the Congress theme: Connecting for Global Impact.

"Knowing that up to 40% of cancer cases can be prevented through simple lifestyle changes, early diagnosis and treatment, it is easy to grasp the potential of the World Cancer Congress. We invite all professionals in the cancer control community, the general public and the media to attend the congress from 27-30 August at the Palais des congrès," says Dr. Michel Gélinas, President and Co-Founder, Fondation québécoise du cancer and President of the Local Host Committee 2012 UICC World cancer Congress. http://www.worldcancercongress.org/registration, participants can save on registration before July 31^st ,

Open to the public for the first time

A public prevention area will be open to the public for the first time at the Congress. Aimed at raising awareness on cancer prevention, this area will feature the Giant Colon exhibit, a unique educational and interactive replica of the human colon. Visitors will see a state of the art 40-foot long by 8-foot high, pink inflatable walk-through reproduction of the human colon. Presented by the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada, this exhibit has been created to inform the public about the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer as well as other diseases of the colon. http://www.worldcancercongress.org/public-prevention-area-giant-colon.

World Cancer Leaders' Summit

The first day will be marked by the World Cancer Leaders' Summit, a high-level invite only event attended by leading decision-makers, which aims to influence international health policy and secure a strategic response to the global cancer epidemic. Last year, the 2011 Leaders' Summit took place in Dublin, Ireland, shortly after the UN High-level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) in order to quickly develop a broad-based action plan for cancer, based on the outcomes of the UN meeting. About 200 people from around the world are expected to attend, along with more than 10 Ministers of Health.

Programme

The Congress, which is held every two years, includes plenary sessions with keynote speakers from around the world and presentations relating to the four content areas: prevention and early detection, cancer care and survivorship, palliation and pain control, and systems in cancer control. The 2012 World Cancer Congress will feature Canadian and international eminent speakers, such as:

Canadians:

• Aboriginal health specialist Dr. Evan Adams, Deputy Provincial Health Officer for the BC Ministry of Health Services.
  
  
• Dr. Elizabeth Eisenhauer, Head, Department of Oncology at Queen's  University and Program Medical Director for Oncology at Kingston General Hospital, Chair of the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer's Research Advisory Group and co-chair of the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance.
  
  
• Cancer epidemiologist, Dr. Eduardo Franco, James McGill Professor, Departments of Oncology and Epidemiology; Director, Division of Cancer Epidemiology; Interim Chair, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
  
  
• Radiation oncologist Dr. Michel Gélinas, President and Co-Founder, Fondation québécoise du cancer and President of the Local Host Committee 2012 UICC World cancer Congress

International speakers:

• International public health expert Sir George Alleyne, Director Emeritus of the PanAmerican Health Organization and Adjunct professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University.
  
  
• Nobel Prize Laureate and DNA researcher Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn. 
Dr. Blackburn currently holds the Morris Herzstein Endowed Chair in Biology and Physiology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco.
  
  
• Cancer prevention leaderDr. Graham Colditz, Associate Director, Prevention and Control at the Siteman Cancer Center as well as Niess-Gain Professor of Surgery, Professor of Medicine and Chief, Division of Public Health Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.
   
• Leading advocacy organizer Dr. John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society and past-President of the UICC.
  
  
• Dr Haik Nikogosian, Head of the Convention Secretariat WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Tobacco Control

The World Cancer Congress will address tobacco control. This year, the tobacco epidemic will kill nearly 6 million people, including some 600 000 non-smokers who will die from exposure to tobacco smoke. By 2030, it could kill 8 million. Tobacco use is one of the biggest contributors to the epidemic of non-communicable diseases - such as heart attack, stroke, cancer and emphysema - which accounts for 63% of all deaths, nearly 80% of which occur in low- and middle-income countries. Up to half of all tobacco users will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease.

The Quebec government announced this June that it is launching a $60-billion lawsuit against 11 tobacco manufacturers. The legal action comes nearly three years after the province passed legislation to seek damages from cigarette makers for the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses. The suit covers a 60-year period between 1970 and 2030. The lawsuit alleges that tobacco companies hid the health risks of smoking for several years and should be held liable. Quebec is the fifth Canadian province to launch a suit against the tobacco companies. British Columbia, Ontario, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador have already filed legal action against the cigarette makers.

About the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)

A membership organisation guided by the World Cancer Declaration, UICC exists to help the global health community accelerate the fight against cancer. Based in Geneva, the organisation's network spans over 150 countries and includes influential policy makers, researchers and experts in cancer prevention and control. Founded in 1933, UICC's growing membership of 635 organisations features the world's major cancer societies, ministries of health and patient groups. Together with the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Economic Forum (WEF) and other key stakeholders, UICC and its partners are tackling the growing cancer crisis on a global scale. www.uicc.org

About the Local Host Committee (LHC) 

The Local Host Committee is composed of Canadian volunteers and individuals with strong beliefs in the fight against cancer. They are responsible for helping to organize the event in Canada and to promote this event to the Canadian delegates and potential partners. Members of this committee include: Dr. Michel Gélinas, President and Co-Founder Fondation québécoise du cancer and President of the LHC 2012 World Cancer Congress; Dr Eduardo  Franco, Professor and Interim Chair, McGill Department of Oncology and Dr Jean-Paul Bahary, Radio Oncologist at the Centre universitaire de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM). http://www.worldcancercongress.org/committees

SOURCE: FONDATION QUEBECOISE DU CANCER

Source: World Cancer Congress
www.worldcancercongress.org
Twitter:@WCC2012

PRESS application for accreditation to the Congress is open to all media professionals.
Contact UICC Press & Media Team with supporting documents (credentials, business card, and freelance materials) at [email protected].
http://www.worldcancercongress.org/registration

FOR ONE ON ONE INTERVIEWS WITH: 

Cancer epidemiologist, Dr. Eduardo Franco, James McGill Professor, Departments of Oncology and Epidemiology; Director, Division of Cancer Epidemiology; Interim Chair, Department of Oncology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.

Radiation oncologist Dr. Michel Gélinas, President and Co-Founder, Fondation québécoise du cancer and President of the Local Host Committee 2012 UICC World cancer Congress

MEDIA CONTACT
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