UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Facilitators: Marion Morra, President, Morra Communications, USA and, Mary Anne Bright, Associate Director, Office of Cancer Information Service, National Cancer Institute, USA; both are members of the Board of the International Cancer Information Service Group (ICISG). This pre-conference workshop includes presentations and consultations by UICC and by ICISG members from England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Australia and the United States.

There is a growing need for quality information offered in a manner that can be easily understood by patients, their families and caregivers, information on up-to-date community resources and referrals and provision of other patient services. Offering these services requires commitment, resources, training and carefully planning. The content being offering in this full-day pre-conference Workshop is based on 30 years of experience and expertise in operating CIS programs.

This Workshop is sponsored by the International Cancer Information Service Group (ICISG) and the UICC. The Workshop is designed for organizations interested in starting a Cancer Information Service or enhancing an existing CIS. Cancer organizations that already have some infrastructure (such as patient services) or are offering some type of patient information (such as printed materials) and are considering expansion of services would benefit most from this program.

This Workshop will provide information, tips and tools from experts in cancer communications for providing a high-quality service. Topics to be covered include: • Conducting a basic needs assessment to understand the environment • Determining the scope of an information service to meet community needs • Planning for staffing, including needed competencies and skills • Preparing staff through training, monitoring and support • Collecting, organizing and maintaining content information and community resources • Determining technology needs and resources

The program will include presentations by CIS experts along with detailed roundtable discussions, didactic exercises and one-on-one consultations. Participants will have the opportunity to meet with CIS experts and to take home workbooks with planning tools and resources. The program is based on the web-based How to Start a CIS Tool Box developed by the International Cancer Information Service Group (ICISG) in collaboration with UICC.

Pre-registration is required for the Workshop. Participants will be asked to provide feedback on issues that would be of prime interest to be covered during the Workshop. It is expected that Workshop participants will gain an understanding and knowledge of steps needed to begin or enhance information services, will receive handouts and examples of tools needed for service and where they can be obtained, and will be informed on how to access the Web-based CIS Tool Box. In addition, they will be invited to join the ICISG to further strengthen their programs through this worldwide network.

A Cancer Information Service provides accurate and up-to-date cancer information to cancer patients, their family and their friends, healthcare professionals and the general public. It is defined by a one-on-one interaction between a client and a trained cancer information specialist. This ensures a high-quality personalized interaction by telephone, email, instant messaging or in-person visits. With the expertise of over 45 members from 30 countries, ICISG provides assistance to cancer organizations interested in the planning, implementing or expanding their information service.

For more information, visit www.icisg.org