Traveling Scholars Program Report
Lubna Mariam, DR
Travel date: May 23, 2019
Name of Meeting/Event/Activity: 16th World Congress of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC)
Origin: Dhaka, Bangladesh / Destination: Berlin, Germany
How was this meeting/activity helpful to you?
I would like to start by thanking IAHPC for the travel grant which make my Berlin travel easier. I feel honored. I am a radiation Oncologist from Bangladesh and in our department, we treat many poor cancer patients with very advance stage or with metastasis where palliative treatment remains the only option. Palliative radiotherapy still comprises a good number of our workload. It encouraged me to search the data and analysis the patient and disease profile of our department, received palliative Radiotherapy. This congress helped me to disseminate my work as it had been selected as poster presentation. From this meeting I came to know the future direction of palliative care. Advocacy to include palliative care in primary health care system influenced me a lot. It was also a wonderful opportunity to meet palliative care colleagues from different corners of the world, especially with the other scholars from IAHPC. Stories regarding establishment of palliative care service in different countries encouraged me a lot.
How will you new knowledge & acquired skills help in furthering your work in hospice and palliative care in your program/city/ or country?
Many new researches I learnt from this congress but the concept of making palliative care nonspecialized subject and integrating it with primary health care system was completely new to me. I like it because I believe every health care professional should learn basic concept palliative medicine.
How IAHPC Traveling Scholars Program be improved in order to help other future traveling scholars?
I believe there are many palliative care colleagues who are doing tremendous work in this field but have less opportunities to disseminate their knowledge due to lack of financial support. JAHPC is trying to extend their support for them. want to express my gratitude for their effort as the benefits are endless for people like me who are unable to bear expenses for such congress.
Narrative summary highlighting the needs and challanges you face
I am currently working as an assistant professor of Radiation Oncology Department at National Institute of cancer research and hospital, Bangladesh. Besides I am also working as a palliative care consultant in the same The hospital is the only public tertiary Centre in the entire nation where poor cancer patients get treatment at a very low cost. In our department many cancer patients present with very advance stage or with metastasis where palliative treatment remains the only option. Palliative radiotherapy comprises a good number of our workload. It encouräged me to search the data and analysis the patient and disease profile of our department, received palliative Radiotherapy. This congress helped me to disseminate my work as it had been selected as poster presentation. From this meeting I came to know the future direction of palliative care. Advocacy to include palliative care in primary health care system influenced me a lot. It was also a wonderful opportunity to meet palliative care colleagues from different corners of the world, especially with the other scholar from IAHPC. Stories regarding establishment of palliative care service in different country encouraged me a lot.