Upcoming Deadlines

• Reserve a Room at the Hotel Regency Buffalo by August 1, 2011
• Register by August 5, 2011
• Submit a Proposal to Exhibit Materials by September 1, 2011
  

Theme

September 8-10, 2011, the American Association for Cancer Education (AACE), the Cancer Patient Education Network (CPEN), and the European Association for Cancer Education (EACE) will collaboratively host their Annual Meeting in Buffalo, NY. This will be the 45th annual meeting for AACE, the 21st for CPEN and the 24th for EACE.

The theme of this year’s meeting is: Global Cancer Education: Building Strength through Research and Best Practices. 

Needs Assessment

Cancer knows no borders. It is the second leading cause of death in developed countries and is among the three leading causes of death for adults in developing and newly industrialized countries. 12.5% of all deaths are caused by cancer. That’s more than the percentage of deaths caused by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria put together. Cancer is a public health problem worldwide. It affects all people: the young and old, the rich and poor, men, women, and children. Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and the total number of cases is increasing. The number of global cancer deaths is projected to increase 45% from 2007 to 2030 (from 7.9 million to 11.5 million deaths), influenced in part by an increasing and aging global population. Every year almost 7 million people die of cancer worldwide and nearly 75% of cancer-related deaths occur in developing countries where resources are limited.¹

Effective patient and professional education is an essential component for the war against cancer that is common to the entire disease spectrum - prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, research, and survivorship. Past meetings of the AACE, EACE, and CPEN individually and collectively, have witnessed the presentation of numerous cancer education initiatives and programs that have varied widely across the cancer continuum. The focus of this year’s meeting, will be to explore how the exchange of cancer education in research and practice can generate synergy to decrease the burden of cancer among populations with diverse needs in the United States and globally.

Our focus for this year’s conference spans the continuum of care:

• Prevention, including risk factor reduction and special populations
• Early detection, including screening strategies
• Treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, surgery, and integrative medicine
• Survivorship
• Palliative care, including pain and other symptom control, effective communication strategies

Additionally, focal areas for abstract submission within that continuum encompass:

• Disparities in access to care and services
• Patient/family education, including program development, management, literacy, competencies
• Healthcare professional education, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, and trainees
• Community outreach and education
• Special populations, culturally and linguistically appropriate cancer education that also meets the needs of patients/families with low literacy

Objectives

This conference is suited for all those interested and/or involved in cancer education including healthcare professionals, patient and family educators, researchers, public health, medical and allied health educators and other professionals. Those in attendance should be able to:

• Identify best practice models in cancer education and cancer education research
• Develop new skills in the design, development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of cancer education
• Identify sources of funding for new cancer education initiatives
• Demonstrate a renewed commitment and passion to eradicating cancer

References

1. World Health Organization