28 Oct 2008

Brain Tumour Support and Education Forum 2008

Institute events
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Grey had its day when 120 patients, carers, families and health professionals gathered to raise brain tumour awareness at the Brain Tumour Support and Education Forum, hosted by the Cancer Institute’s NSW Oncology Group Neuro-Oncology.

Wearing the newly launched grey and white brain tumour awareness ribbons, participants gathered to hear leaders in the field describe the complex patient journey in simple terms - from surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy to research and rehabilitation. The day also featured inspirational stories from patients and carers, which included Marcella Zemanek.

Opening

Emeritus Prof Tom Reeve, Surgeon, Medical Advisor, Australian Cancer Network
Tom Reeve

Opening the forum was special guest Emeritus Professor of Surgery Tom Reeve, who began his career as an undergraduate during World War II, commuting on the "red rattler" from the University of Sydney to St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst. His career has taken him through war zones across the world and he spoke of his time as a medical student in 1942, and the vast change with patient access to information and his own experience as a carer and being cared for - "one requires strong elements of leadership to be a good carer".

Neurosurgery: Brain Tumours: Treating the patient, not the Xray

Dr Charlie Teo, Centre for Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery, Prince of Wales Private Hospital
Charlie Teo

Despite operating until 3.30am that morning, high-profile Sydney brain surgeon Dr Charlie Teo enlightened participants, by bringing the human element into the treatment of brain tumours. He spoke of the five most common brain tumours, their treatment and the particular impact of Malignant Glioma - the deadliest of all cancers, and strikes people in the prime of their life. Dr Teo discussed the difference with high and low grade glioma's, difficulties of recurrence, the risks of surgery and the improvements in neuro-surgery over time.

Radio-oncology: De-mystifying the myths about radiotherapy for brain tumours

Dr Eng-Siew Koh, Radiation Oncologist, Liverpool Hospital
Eng-Siew Koh

The world of radiotherapy was demystified with an educational session presented by Dr Eng-Siew Koh, a Radiation Oncologist at Liverpool Hospital. Dr Koh presented science in an understandable form, describing in simple language how radiotherapy works, what benefit radiotherapy provides, its impact on survival and the potential short, medium and longterm side-effects. She addressed the myth that radiotherapy will do more harm than good, and answered common questions; what is the optimal time to receive radiation therapy? and can a course of radiation treatment to the brain be repeated?

Neuro-oncology: Treatment advances for patients diagnosed with glioma adults and children

Dr Helen Wheeler, Medical Oncologist, Royal North Shore Hospital
Helen Wheeler

Medical Oncologist Dr Helen Wheeler spoke of past and present drug therapies, how they are developed through clinical trials and the current international gold standard of treatment. She enlightened participants on the complexities of drug dosage, potential effects that complementary therapies can have on the metabolism of chemotherapy, and the importance of considering individual variations in cancer, glioma cells and background tissue when administering any treatment.
Dr Lesley Ashton, Head of the Molecular Epidemiology Group, Children's Cancer Institute Australia
Lesley Ashton

Dr Lesley Ashton provided an epidemiological overview of brain tumours in children, with emphasis on the differences in tumour types and anatomical sites to adults. She addressed treatment challenges, late effects and the overall multidisciplinary treatment approach between specialities and access to clinical trials unique to children. Dr Ashton presented statistics on late-effects and long-term survivors of CNS tumours, and her research investigating possible links between a child's genetic makeup, their exposure to environmental factors and the occurrence of cancer.

Interactive Panel: A Clinical Flavour

Chaired by Dr Elizabeth Hovey, Medical Oncologist, Prince of Wales Hospital
Panel Clinical

Dr Liz Hovey chaired an engaging Q&A session, addressing audience questions to an expert panel with representation from medical and radiation oncology, surgery, pathology and epidemiology - including:

  • A description of how tumours are diagnosed, classified and therefore treated
  • Risks and benefits of repeat debulking surgery
  • Link between environmental factors and cancer…Do mobile phones cause cancer?
  • Radiation therapy and links to second cancer…can radiation therapy shorten lifespan?
  • New targeted agents - who benefits and why?
  • The role of natural substances and alternative therapies - just because it's natural doesn't mean it's good for you!
  • The hardest question: how am I going to die?

Rehabilitation: Applying rehabilitation therapies to improve quality of life and functional therapies

A/Prof Andrew Cole, Senior Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine, Rehabilitation Department, St George Hospital, Conjoint Professor, UNSW

Andrew Cole

A/Prof Cole described rehabilitation as the process of working with the patients to achieve the goals they want. He presented an entertaining session and identified five key areas important in "Getting on with life":

  1. Returning home after hospital treatment
  2. Returning to work in a position you like
  3. Earning money
  4. Getting around - when is it safe to drive again?
  5. Spending time with friends

Research Advances: Taking a collaborative approacyh to improve our understanding of glioma

Prof Lyle Palmer, Chief Investigator: Australian Genomics and Clinical Outcomes of High Grade Glicomas (AGOG), Chair in Genetic Epidemiology and Director, Centre for Genetics Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Western Australia

Lyle Palmer

Internationally renowned geneticist Prof Lyle Palmer described the explosive growth in knowledge of human genetics, and its application to clinical and public health practice. Genetics has been responsible for the emergence of new, targeted therapies and increasing understanding of the biology of conditions, such as brain cancer. By understanding the causes of disease, new treatments can be created, and Prof Palmer explored the exciting developments of personalised medicine. In collaboration with the genomic knowledge influencing clinical breakthroughs, he presented on the importance of modelling the interaction between genetic makeup and the individual's environment.

Patient and Carer Perspective

Patient and Carer Panel (L,R) Marcella Zamenek, Janet Willis, Evan Shonk and Liane McFarlane

Brain forum

Beginning with Marcella Zemanek, this session features the personal and inspirational stories of patients and carers and their life experience with brain cancer.

 

A/Professor Andrew Cole

Rehabilitation: Applying rehabilitation therapies to improve quality of life and functional therapies

Event details and registration

Date/Time 28 Oct 2008

Please note:
Events publicised on this website align to the goals and objectives of the NSW Cancer Plan 2011-2015, are evidence-based, not-for profit and are conducted by:

  • Professional colleges
  • Cancer councils
  • State-based, national and international cancer control organisations and agencies.
  • Cancer or health services
  • Government organisations
  • Academic institutions.

The Cancer Institute NSW will consider events that meet this criteria on a case-by-case basis, and will not support activities or groups that do not comply with strict evidence-based principles.

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