Oncology Professional Care has revealed its first set of sessions for the 2024 edition, taking place on 21-22 May 2024 at ExCeL London.  

Now in its third year, the leading UK conference and exhibition for the entire oncology team provides world-class, CPD-accredited learning that focuses on improving the complete patient pathway. The programme is comprised of four theatres, including a Keynote Theatre with the ‘Early Diagnosis and Screening’ stream on day one and the ‘Future Cancer Workforce’ stream on day two. The overall theme of the conference is based on fostering collaboration across the spectrum of care to gain fresh perspectives and understand how individual contributions can impact the patient journey. Delegates will discover cutting-edge developments in treatment, hear poignant stories from patients about their unique journeys, and enhance their skills in practical sessions.  

The programme and speaker faculty have been carefully curated with the full support of an advisory board, representative of all members of the oncology team. Organisations include: Macmillan Cancer Support, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, BOPA, University College London, UKONS, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre, and more.  

Speakers include:  

• Anneka Chana, Therapeutic Radiographer Team Lead - Brachytherapy/Orthovoltage, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 

• Anthony Cunliffe, National Lead GP Adviser, Macmillan Cancer Support 

• Chris Curtis, Chief Executive Officer, The Swallows Head & Neck Cancer Charity 

• Dharmisha Chauhan, Lead Genomic Pharmacist, North Thames Genomic Medicine Service Alliance | Specialist Oncology Pharmacist, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 

• Geoff Bellingan, Medical Director, University College London Hospitals (UCLH) 

• Joanna McNamara, Senior Lecturer Radiotherapy & Oncology, Sheffield Hallam University | Co-Founder and Co-Host, Rad Chat 

• Majid Kazmi, Director of Innovation for Cancer and Surgery & Deputy Medical Director, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust 

• Naman Julka-Anderson, Research Radiographer, The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust | Co-Allied Health Professional Clinical Advisor, Macmillan Cancer Support | Founder and Co-Host, Rad Chat 

• Nina Fuller-Shavel, Director and Head of Integrative Cancer Care, Precision Health & Integrative Medicine Doctor, Synthesis Clinic | Co-Chair of the BSIO Education Committee, British Society for Integrative Oncology 

• Penny Kechagioglou, Consultant Clinical Oncologist, Chief Clinical Information Officer, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire 

• Vikash Dodhia, Head of Pharmacy, East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust | Clinical Lead - Aseptic Services Review, NHS England 

• Wendy Ng, Deputy Head of Pharmacy & Cancer Lead Pharmacist, Mount Vernon Cancer Centre 

Key themes being covered at this year’s event include: 

• Patient stories interrogating the multi-disciplinary pitfalls of the patient pathway 
• Improving the speed of cancer diagnosis: How integrated care systems can leverage primary care 

• Managing long-term consequences from head and neck radiotherapy 

• Proton beam therapy: Advancing cancer precision 

• The impact of race, ethnicity, and obesity on CAR T-cell therapy outcomes for blood cancer patients 

• Co-morbidities, culture and cultural conditioning, and colonisation of medicine: How we can make integrative oncology care more inclusive 

• The role of occupational therapy in prehabilitation and rehabilitation for elderly cancer patients 

• Complexities of looking after people with rare cancers 

• Integrative oncology in breast cancer care 

Barney Ridley, content lead for Oncology Professional Care, said: “Oncology Professional Care is not just an educational event – it's a celebration of the collective effort shaping the future of cancer care.” 

Rad Chat Radiotherapy Theatre 
Oncology Professional Care is delighted to be partnering with Rad Chat – the hugely successful radiotherapy podcast, hosted by the multi-award-winning therapeutic radiographers Jo McNamara and Naman Julka-Anderson. This brand-new theatre will ensure the spotlight is firmly on the treatment innovations and cutting-edge technologies which are transforming radiotherapy today, with the patient voice at the centre of all sessions.  

In addition to this, Oncology Professional Care is proud to announce its strategic partnership with Radiotherapy UK, the only charity dedicated to improving radiotherapy treatment throughout the UK. Together, Oncology Professional Care and Radiotherapy UK will share best practices and fresh perspectives in radiotherapy with the entire multi-disciplinary team, as part of the Rad Chat Radiotherapy Theatre. This collaboration is a step forward in advancing oncology care and delivering innovative, patient-centric treatments to improve patient outcomes. 

This is an opportunity for the wider oncology community to increase their understanding of radiotherapy, and the highly qualified practitioners who deliver treatments. 

Jo McNamara, Registered Therapeutic Radiographer and Senior Lecturer, Sheffield Hallam University, said: “I am so very excited to be collaborating on Oncology Professional Care. It’s an event that empowers a wide multi-professional oncology community with expertise and compassion. We hope to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology, care, and heartfelt conversations. We aim to elevate your knowledge, skills and practice, with insights that really matter.’’ 

EUSICA/INSICA-Brain 2024 Annual Meeting 
The Annual Meeting of the European and International Network of Sinonasal Cancer Research (EUSICA) and Brain Tumour Research will take place at this year’s Oncology Professional Care. EUSICA is a group of physicians, surgeons, and scientists working collaboratively to advance the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancers of the nose, sinuses, and skull base. The conference will cover key topics across surgical innovations, international guidelines and PROMs and includes a Dissection Course on both days. Confirmed speakers include: Garret Choby (University of Pittsburgh), Matt Lechner (University College London), Jayakar Nayak (Stanford University), Jens Peter Klussmann (University of Cologne), and more Christian von Buchwald (University of Copenhagen). Find out more information at: eusica.org 

Call for papers 
Delegates can share results of their clinical or technical work in the Poster Zone, a dedicated area on the exhibition floor where posters will be displayed and viewed by hundreds of healthcare professionals. Abstracts relating to the overall themes of the theatres are welcomed and should demonstrate an appropriate and/or innovative piece of work relating to patient care and/or practice. The deadline for abstracts is 17:00 on Thursday 28 March 2024. More information is available on the website: oncologyprofessionalcare.co.uk/poster-zone 

Oncology Professional Care is free to attend for registered healthcare professionals, those who work in the field of oncology in a healthcare capacity, and other relevant decision-makers only. You can register online: https://bit.ly/3vBOzXD 

For delegate enquiries, please contact the team on opc@closerstillmedia.com.  

For sponsorship, exhibition or speaking enquiries, please contact Lucy, Event Manager, on l.clarke@closerstillmedia.com. 

-ENDS- 

The organisers, CloserStill Media, specialise in global professional events within the healthcare and technology markets. The healthcare portfolio includes some of the UK’s fastest-growing and award-winning events, such as Health Plus Care, The Clinical Pharmacy Congress, Diabetes Professional Care, The Dentistry Show, The Pharmacy Show and Acute & General Medicine. It is a market leading innovator. With its teams and international events, it has won multiple awards, including Best Marketer – five times in succession – Best Trade Exhibition, Best Launch Exhibition, and Sunday Times Top 100 Companies to Work For – four years in series – among others. CloserStill Media delivers unparalleled quality and relevant audiences for all its exhibitions, delivering NHS and private sector healthcare professionals from across occupational therapy, pharmacy, dentistry, primary and secondary care with more than £16m worth of free training.