REGIONAL INITIATIVES
Francophone, Arabophone and Turkish languages or mixed
languages need to be taken into account in training or Collaborators and alliances with SEMCO
educational courses particularly for nursing. ‰ Arab Community Center for Economic and Social
Many professional cancer consultants and university staff Services, USA (ACCESS)
already have links to or memberships of international bodies ‰ AfrOX, Oxford, UK
and attend at least one of the conferences or educational ‰ Arab Medical Association Against Cancer (AMAAC)
courses of the international, European, US or local ‰ African Organization for Research and
organizations and cancer societies. However, Training in Cancer (AORTIC)
there is a lack of coordination locally, regionally and ‰ American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
internationally; a lack of training in multidisciplinary balanced ‰ European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)
approaches to different aspects of cancer control that fits real ‰ ICEDOC and ICEDOC's Experts in Cancer without
regional conditions and as well as a lack of capacity building for borders
relevant research and clinical trials as the region could be a ‰ International Network for Cancer Treatment and
considerable international contributor to cancer research. Research (INCTR)
Behind SEMCO is the successful experience of ICEDOC's ‰ The NCI, Global Health and Office of International
“Experts in Cancer Without Borders” in many parts of the affairs, USA
world. Hence, SEMCO adopts ICEDOC’s three “Cs”: ‰ South and East Mediterranean for Health Advance
Cooperation, Collaboration and Coordination. The role of (SEHA)
SEMCO is not to compete, but to cooperate.
The shared goals of ICEDOC are as follows4:
‰ To increase cancer management facilities in the world. SEMCO events
‰ To improve the quality of the existing services. Examples include the following meetings in collaboration with
‰ To decrease the morbidity and mortality of cancer. national, regional, and international organizations:
‰ To promote the activities of early detection of cancer that ‰ First SEMCO-ASCO Conference was held 5–6 April 2007 at
should be tailored for each region and to associate them the National Training Centre of the Ministry of Health in
with more availability of treatment facilities. Cairo, Egypt. The conference included a multidisciplinary
‰ To assist in tailoring cancer treatment protocols, cancer management course. Course speakers were
modalities and departments according to specific American, English, Italian, Belgian and Chinese and they
conditions and the socioeconomic factors in each region covered modalities of cancer management, cancer
taking into consideration the views of the local health care screening and prevention, clinical trials in cancer with a
givers and community. The final results should lie within special session for breast and urinary cancer.
the range of acceptable results. There should be a double ‰ SEMCOESMO-ACOD Conference was held 5–7 December
benefits for the patients and the progress of medicine. 2007 at the Palestine Hotel in Alexandria, Egypt, in
‰ To conduct relevant research. collaboration with European Society of Medical Oncology
and the Alexandria Clinical Oncology Department.
‰ Second SEMCO-ASCO Conference was held 26–28 March
Board of SEMCO 2008 at Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. The course
‰ Honorary President: Professor Dr Sherif Omar was held in collaboration with ASCO and Ain Shams
‰ Co-Presidents: Professor Dr Hussein Khaled and Clinical Oncology Department.
Professor Dr Ahmed Elzawawy ‰ Third SEMCO-ASCO Conference was held in Sesme City,
‰ General Director: Professor Dr Ahmed Elzawawy Izmir, Turkey on 20–22 November 2008. It was a
‰ Manager: Dr Atef Badran multidisciplinary cancer management course.
‰ Director of SEMCO Turkey: Professor Munir Kinay ‰ Fourth SEMCO-ASCO Conference held in Cairo, Egypt from
‰ Director of SEMCO Gulf Region: Dr Aly Abdel Razek 15–17 April 2009. This was a special course on palliative
care for cancer patients in collaboration with ASCO and
the Institute for Palliative Medicine at San Diego Hospice.
Senior Scientific advisers and contributors are experts in The conference offered the attendees a recognized EPEC-
cancer management in the South and East Mediterranean O course certificate.
region. ‰ Fifth SEMCO-ASCO Conference held at the Gulf
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