Speakers
Professor Afaf Girgis AM
Prof Afaf Girgis AM [PhD, BSc(Hons)] is Director, Psycho-oncology Research Group, at the Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research & Faculty of Medicine & Health, University of New South Wales (UNSW Sydney), Australia.
Prof Girgis has worked for over 32 years as a Behavioural Scientist in cancer control and psycho-oncology. In 2019, she became a Member (AM) of the Order of Australia, awarded for her significant service to medicine, and to medical education, in the field of cancer control and psycho-oncology.
Her national and international standing in behavioural science and psycho-oncology was acknowledged in 2012 with the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia (COSA) Inaugural Psycho-oncology Award, in 2015 with the Lady Mary Fairfax Distinguished Researcher Award, and in 2017 with 4 distinguished awards: South West Sydney Research Hub annual prize, UNSW in the South West Distinguished Research Prize, the South Western Sydney Local Health District Translational Research Award, and the South Western Sydney Local Health District Board Award, and the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards (ACHS) Quality Improvement Award 2018 in Healthcare Measurement.
Prof Girgis has published almost 400 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts and book chapters, and contributed to several clinical practice guidelines; and been successful with research funding applications totalling $57.8 Million. Prof Girgis is committed to training and mentoring junior researchers and has successfully supervised 27 research higher degree students and fellowships; and currently supervises 3 PhD, 1 Research Masters and 3 Honours students, and mentors several clinician researchers.
'Equity of care for culturally and linguistically diverse cancer patients? We’re not there yet'
Cancer patients of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds have poorer outcomes, poorer psychosocial wellbeing, are less likely to participate in clinical trials, and feel less well informed about procedures such as breast reconstruction. This presentation will provide an overview of some of these inequities, as well as describe some of the innovative work being undertaken in Australia to redress this inequity.
Sean Ralph
Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer in prostate cancer
Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
Sean studied radiotherapy and oncology at the University of Liverpool and subsequently qualified as Therapeutic Radiographer in 2011. Since 2012 he has worked closely with Prostate Cancer UK to ensure that their patient information and support resources are inclusive of the needs of gay and bisexual men with prostate cancer. In 2013 he co-founded Out with Prostate Cancer, the UK’s first prostate cancer support group for gay and bisexual men and trans women.
Sean was awarded a masters degree in clinical research from The University of Manchester in 2018 for which he conducted a study to develop UK guidance on how long men should abstain from receiving anal sex before, during and after interventions for prostate cancer. Following this he underwent additional study in advanced healthcare practice at Liverpool John Moores University becoming a non-medical prescriber.
In November 2020 Sean was appointed as a Consultant Therapeutic Radiographer in Prostate Cancer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust. For the past two years he has also been developing a masters module with the University of Liverpool entitled, ‘Taking Pride in Cancer Care: Person-Centre Care for LGBTQ+ People with Cancer’. This is the first masters module to focus on LGBTQ+ healthcare in the UK and will launch in February 2022.
'Meeting the Psychosocial and Psychosexual Needs of Gay and Bisexual Men with Prostate Cancer'
In this presentation Sean will provide an overview of the information and support needs of gay and bisexual men with prostate, highlighting the resources and services available that clinicians can signpost this group of patients to. He will also discuss his MClin Res research, 'Developing UK guidance on how long men should abstain from receiving anal sex before, during and after interventions for prostate cancer'. The most common age to be diagnosed with prostate cancer is 65-69 years. This group of patients will therefore have lived at a time when their sexual orientation was criminalised and classified as a mental health problem. Sean will therefore frame his presentation within that historical context in order to provide a deeper understanding of their support needs and health seeking behaviours.
Twitter: @Sean_C_Ralph
Zahida Ramzan-Asghar
Zahida is a Senior Employment Lawyer in Government Legal Department. Zahida is passionate and committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the work place and generally. Zahida is Co-Chair of GLD Disability Network (DAWN) and is the Co-Chair of Cross Civil Service Senior Disability Network called REACH which aims to improve representation rates of disabled people in senior grades. Almost ten years ago Zahida had a personal diagnosis of cancer and as a result regularly talks about her cancer journey particularly the taboo of cancer that exists in some communities. She recently set up the Working with Cancer Network in Government Legal Department which provides a buddy support service to people affected by cancer.
'Taboo of Cancer in BAME Communities'
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