Outgoing and Incoming President Messages |
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From Shaun O'Connor, Outgoing President
It feels like it was only yesterday that I was assuming the Presidency to serve ISOPP and continue leading the great work that we deliver for oncology patients around the world. So much has happened in this time, with COVID throwing many of our plans awry, but the society has shown resilience in progressing towards our goals and in some cases delivering new tasks for the benefit of pharmacists
I am proud of the incredible work that we have achieved over the past two years. The Standards being released imminently, refresh of the Strategic Plan, Oncology Pharmacotherapy and Applications of Biosimilars program, inaugural Saudi Arabia Regional Oncology Conference, ISOPP Position Statement: Role of the oncology pharmacy team in cancer care, participation in Project PINK BLUE's efforts to educate oncology pharmacists in Nigeria, Advocacy involvement in the UICC Impact of Drug Shortages and Quality on Patients with cancer, contributions to the WHO EML, the joint webinar on “Vaccine Considerations in Patients with Cancer Receiving Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (including COVID-19),” the Biosimilars Toolkit and more I will have missed, all showcase the incredible work of our members, and I have to acknowledge the work of our previous President, Alexandre Chan, in setting many of these in motion.
The refresh of our Strategic Plan focuses our efforts for the next two years, aiming to both ensure the sustainability of our society and offer a diverse range of resources for members. It also allows us to reengage our members to move forwards with our ambitious program. The three strategic objectives have been refreshed with the help of the secretariat, committee chairs, task force leads and the membership survey. Some of our work is building on past efforts and some is opportunistic due to changes that have occurred such as our website content management system requiring an extensive update to continue being supported. There are many important future initiatives and Education, Research and Advocacy Committees keep going from strength to strength whilst our Immunotherapy Task Force is about to deliver their toolkit and has just had their position paper published this week.
The society does not function without the work of our many volunteer members. Your work is what makes our mission alive and thriving - please volunteer for any committee or project that interests you and help drive our impact forwards! We need experiences and viewpoints from across the globe to ensure that our work is representative and inclusive of as many viewpoints as possible. Thanks also to Sea to Sky as our SMO for supporting our work.
It is with great pride in the work of the society that I hand over the presidency to Evelyn Handel. She is well equipped to lead us in our mission and I have full faith in her abilities and the support of the secretariat to keep the society moving forwards.
P.S. If you weren’t able to join us for ISOPP’s 2022 Virtual Symposium, benefit from additional knowledge and best practices by accessing the video presentations through ISOPP’s Virtual Library – complimentary for all ISOPP members. Many thanks to Lisa Holle, our Virtual Symposium Task Force Chair, and all those who participated and volunteered their expertise to make our virtual gathering an outstanding success. In fact, 100% rated the event as good to excellent, and 95% rated the online platform as good to excellent as well.
Enjoy the rest of the newsletter, including the “Oncology Around the World” articles, and see you online and in person soon!
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From Evelyn Handel, Incoming President
I am excited and honored to write my first update as ISOPP President, and I am very much looking forward to leading this amazing organization over the next two years. I have also been reflecting on what an incredible journey it’s been so far, which all started with a simple email to ask how I could become involved and help out after I joined ISOPP as a brand-new member. Over the years, being involved in ISOPP has led to some of the most rewarding professional growth, volunteer experiences, networking opportunities, and conference/travel destinations that I have had throughout my career. I am so grateful for the opportunity to give back to this amazing organization that has given so much to me.
As we transition into the new Secretariat, I would like to thank Shaun O’Connor for his leadership of the society and the many important milestones and achievements mentioned above and throughout the rest of this newsletter. I am very thankful that he will remain on the Secretariat in the role of Past President. In addition, I look forward to working with the entire volunteer leadership and thank the many members who have previously laid the foundation that we continue to build upon.
Last month was our ISOPP 2022 Virtual Symposium, and it brought me much joy to “see” so many of you virtually. The strength of our society is built on the dedication and participation of our members, and I would like to thank all our planning task force volunteers, presenters, attendees, sponsors, and Sea to Sky for helping to make the symposium a success. Please note the section below that mentions how you can access the educational sessions and the recording/meeting minutes of the Annual General Meeting.
I also want to thank everyone who has contributed to the ongoing work of all our Committees and Task Forces – so much work goes into planning educational programs, writing grants and publications, facilitating research opportunities, membership/communication, advocacy initiatives, and more. Keep reading below for an update on the OPAB program and upcoming immunotherapy toolkit, and keep an eye out for future updates on other projects in subsequent newsletters.
So much amazing work has already been done, and I look forward to the next steps in achieving our goals and furthering our society. The newly refreshed Strategic Plan will guide us over the next few years and I am looking forward to advancing the goals and projects we have laid out as it relates to membership, education/professional development, research, advocacy, and immunotherapy. If you’re thinking of becoming more involved in ISOPP, now would be a great time to check out our list of Committees and Task Forces, join a group, and help move our initiatives forward. Everyone is welcome!
Along with many achievements, these past few years have also brought many unique challenges and it is amazing to see how ISOPP has been resilient, productive, and a great place for all of us to connect and learn from each other despite the difficult circumstances. As we continue to navigate these unprecedented times, I know our shared common passion to provide the best possible care to oncology patients continues to unite us. Every day is a new opportunity to do the best we can, and ISOPP is a place where we can support and encourage each other and continue to learn and grow.
It is with great excitement that I look forward to seeing each other face-to-face again at our next ISOPP Symposium on March 2-4, 2023 followed by a one-day Masterclass on March 5 in the beautiful city of Sevilla, Spain.
In the meantime, I encourage you to explore the ISOPP website for an update on who your volunteer leaders are, and also to email me at president@isopp.org if you wish to participate on any of the Committees, Task Forces, and Work Groups. Also, please email me anytime with suggestions and ideas that you may have.
I look forward to hearing from you and being of service. Thank you for the privilege! Enjoy the articles and updates below.
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Shaun O’Connor
ISOPP Past President
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Evelyn Handel Zapata
ISOPP President
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Virtual AGM Minutes and recording available online!
If you didn’t have chance to attend the meeting, review the minutes for updates from the various Committees and Task Forces. Or sign into the website and then watch a recording of the meeting.
Thank you again for being a part of the ISOPP community!
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ISOPP 2022 Secretariat Election Results
ISOPP’s 2022 Secretariat election took place in January/February and 35% of members voted. Thank you all for your participation and welcome aboard to our newly elected Secretariat members:
- Evelyn Handel (President)
- Shaun O’Connor (Past-President)
- Irene Weru (Secretary)
- Robert Duncombe (Treasurer)
- Tiene Bauters (General Secretariat Member)
- Netty Cracknell (General Secretariat Member)
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Barry Goldspiel (General Secretariat Member)
- Hisanaga Nomura (General Secretariat Member)
Much gratitude and appreciation to the outgoing member, Kimberley Kerr (General Member).
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ISOPP 2022 Virtual Symposium Contest Winners
The contest during ISOPP’s 2022 Virtual Symposium was a hit, providing a friendly rivalry to see who could gather the most points.
All participants with points were entered into a random draw chosen by the Symposium platform. The more points you got, the better your odds were of winning one of the prizes. Congratulations to our two contest winners:
- Complimentary registration for the ISOPP2023 Symposium – Dr. Mario Jorge Silva
- Complimentary ISOPP membership for 2023 – Michael Serrano.
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ISOPP Publications
An update on recent and upcoming
ISOPP Publications:
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ISOPP Standards of Practice: ISOPP’s Standards of Practice in cancer pharmacy communicate to healthcare professionals the roles and responsibilities of oncology pharmacists and provide a benchmark to evaluate the quality of services and patient care. The revised version has been published in the Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice and posted to ISOPP’s website. Congratulations to the Standards Review Task Force on a job well done. Without the work that each of them contributed, these standards would not stand as a keystone document in ISOPP’s mission to advance oncology pharmacy care for patients around the world.
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ISOPP Position Paper on the role of oncology pharmacy practitioners in immunotherapy treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors for malignant conditions: The position paper developed by the Immunotherapy Task Force has been approved by the ISOPP Secretariat and published online ahead of print by JOPP. This paper will allow ISOPP to have engagement with other stakeholders in the field of immunotherapy, such as pharmaceutical companies.
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The ISOPP Immunotherapy Task Force is creating an Immunotherapy Toolkit that will provide references and website links to assist oncology pharmacy professionals in caring for patients receiving immunotherapy.
The plan is for the Toolkit to include resources such as:
- Introduction to Immunotherapy
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Position Statements of ISOPP and Other Societies International, National, Regional and Local Guidelines
- Immunotherapy Use in Low to Middle Income Countries
- Patient Education Resources
- Health Care Professional Resources
- ISOPP Educational Resources
A notification will be sent to you once the Toolkit is available in the ISOPP Website.
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ISOPP Sponsored Membership
Each year during the membership renewal period, members graciously donate monies so that fellow oncology pharmacy practitioners, who might otherwise not be able to join ISOPP, are afforded the opportunity. This year, ISOPP received 20 requests and of these requests, 8 healthcare professionals who care about advancing cancer care have become members and 10 virtual library access sponsorship requests were granted.
This is thanks to the generosity of ISOPP members: Thomas Connor, Tandy-Sue Copeland, Marc Geirnaert, David Henry, Polly Kintzel, Shaun O’Connor, Maria Larizza, Barbara Yim, Carlo DeAngelis, Rachel NIxon and others.
If you would like to make a donation, please email ISOPP’s Society Management office at membership@isopp.org or log into your membership record to make the donation.
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ISOPP Immunotherapy Task Force Report
Submitted by Lynne Nakashima, Chair, ISOPP Immunotherapy Task Force
The ISOPP Immunotherapy Task Force has been hard at work since the fall of 2020, developing resources to assist oncology pharmacy practitioners in managing the care of patients on immunotherapy. Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that stimulates the immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells. There are several different types of immunotherapy, including immunomodulators like immune checkpoint inhibitors, adoptive cell therapy, like chimeric antigen receptor therapy (CAR-T), and cancer vaccines. The Task Force chose first to focus on immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
The Task Force is pleased to announce the publication of the ISOPP Position Statement on the role of oncology pharmacy practitioners in immunotherapy treatment with immune checkpoint inhibitors for malignant conditions! This position statement has been published online ahead of print in the Journal of Oncology Pharmacy Practice (JOPP).
The position statement describes four key recommendations:
1) participation as an integrated, collaborative member of the multidisciplinary health care team (MHT);
2) provision of education and training for patients, students, residents, fellows and other members of the MHT;
3) involvement in clinical governance to optimize the use of immune checkpoint inhibitors and
4) involvement in research and development in the field of immunotherapy.
The Task Force is also happy to report that the Immunotherapy Tool Kit is being finalized for posting on the ISOPP website. The toolkit provides links to resources that oncology pharmacy practitioners will find useful in various different aspects of their practice when managing patients being treated with immunotherapy.
The Task Force was ably represented by Jared Borlagdan, who gave a presentation at the recent ISOPP Virtual Symposium 2022, entitled, “Immunotherapy Updates in Solid Tumor Malignancies”.
And finally, the Task Force is working on a write-up of the survey completed last year, as well as educational opportunities available for oncology pharmacy practitioners.
It is a pleasure to serve as the chair of this Task Force, and I would like to thank all the Task Force members for their contributions: María Asunción Albert-Marí, Elif Aras Atik, Jared Borlagdan, Alexandre Chan, Constanza Cortés Labra, Andrea Crespo, Melanie Danilak, Mario de Lemos, Marc Geirnaert, Esin Aysel Kandemir, CheaXin Lim, Ramatu Mas'ud Alabelewe, Rina Mutiara, Karunrat Tewthanom, Andrew Walker, Barbara Yim, and Miguel Yu.
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Oncology Pharmacotherapy and Applications of Biosimilars Program |
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The program consists of 10 online modules (25 hours) and you can choose to take the accredited program, earning you a Certificate of Completion with 25 CEUs, or the non-accredited program, receiving a Letter of Participation with no CEUs awarded.
The OPAB Program is complimentary for ISOPP members and geared towards oncology pharmacists who have practiced for at least one year in the area of oncology pharmacy.
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If you haven’t already, be sure to register to receive access to the program and begin your training! If you’re already registered, watch for notification of Part 2 coming soon!
Share the OPAB Program information with your colleagues!
You can share knowledge by promoting the OPAB Program to oncology pharmacists in your region! Download an OPAB poster for display at your institution or for emailing on to your local association’s membership. There are two formats: 8.5 x 11 for North America and A4 for the rest of the world. Download 8.5 x 11 OPAB Poster Download A4 OPAB Poster
If the poster size does not work for the paper size of your country, please let us know and we will send you a version with the correct dimensions.
See other ways to promote OPAB here – from adverts to slides to marketing emails and more, including PPT slides to add in to any presentations you might be making in the near future.
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We acknowledge the Faculty members, Reviewers and Task Force members for their contributions to the OPAB Program.
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Faculty - Joseph Bubablo, Tegan Bilse, Aygin Bayraktar, Kellie Jones Weddle, Lisa Holle, Islam Konaissi, Judith Smith, Lillian Cortez, Emma Foreman, Alex Chan, Emma Foreman
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Reviewers - Joseph Bubablo, Bruce Burnett, Carole Chambers, Melanie Danilak, Evelyn Handel, Lisa Holle, Tom McFarlane, Maggie Patterson, Rowena Schwartz, Aygin Bayraktar, Netty Cracknell, CheaXin Lim, May Oh, Himanshu Patel, Chiajie Tan
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Task Force - Aygin Bayraktar, Alex Chan, Netty Cracknell, Emma Foreman, CheaXin Lim, May Oh, Himanshu Patel, Chiajie Tan
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The OPAB Program is supported by an educational grant from Pfizer.
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Save the Date for the ISOPP 2023 Symposium in Sevilla, Spain!
Come to Sevilla, Spain in 2023 for the XXI International Symposium on Oncology Pharmacy Practice (ISOPP 2023), March 2 - 4, and ISOPP's one day Masterclass, March 5. That is three and a half days of leading edge education to advance your oncology pharmacy knowledge. The Symposium takes place at the Barceló Sevilla Renacimiento located on the banks of the Guadalquivir River.
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Oncology Pharmacy Around the World |
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On March 4 and 5 we benefited from a first class virtual symposium where over 170 participants from 45 countries:
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The virtual social stream was active and engaging. Participants shared their views, said hi to long-standing friends and made new acquaintances. |
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Rave reviews were a great reward for the Task Force’s hard work!
"The programme was exceptionally well run and informative. I enjoyed the hot topics and the participation.”
“Overall the presentations and presenters were excellent - very informative and relevant to everyday practice.”
“Excellent program, platform works well and good attempt to enable communication between members through the networking sessions and member hub. Under the circumstances, I don't think that this could have been better. Thank you to the organizing committee for an amazing job.”
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We'd like to acknowledge the hard work put in by the ISOPP 2022 VS Task Force and congratulate them on the success of the Symposium: Lisa Holle (Chair) , Melanie Danilak, Jennifer Jupp, Kimberley-Ann Kerr and Estela Moreno.
A big thank you to all who attended and see you at ISOPP 2023 in Sevilla, Spain!
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Invitation to contribute towards a research topic entitled ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Care and Rehabilitation’
In response to the COVID 19 pandemic, healthcare organizations around the world have implemented and utilised changes in cancer care including a wide variety of technologies. The purpose of this collection of papers is to showcase and share learning from those who have had experience of these changes including implementing the use of IT solutions and/or IT science to assist and improve clinical outcomes for patients.
The overarching theme for the research topic is impact of COVID-19 pandemic on cancer care. We welcome the submission of manuscripts including, but not limited to, the following four sub-themes:
1) To analyse the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on cancer care and rehabilitation.
2) To investigate the impact of Long-COVID on cancer patients and to look at similarities and differences of CRF and Long-COVID.
3) To investigate to what extent technology can be used to compensate deficits in cancer care and rehabilitation.
4) To describe the use of technology in cancer care and rehabilitation and to evaluate the outcomes.
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Highlighted Education Resources |
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ISOPP offers online educational opportunities specific to the needs of oncology pharmacy practitioners, facilitated by ISOPP leaders and oncology pharmacy experts.
Log in as a member to learn from ISOPP’s previously recorded webinars. Members have complimentary access for one year from the date of the webinar:
Interested in presenting a webinar? Please contact the Education Committee Chair, Himanshu Patel, at education@isopp.org.
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The Virtual Library serves as a hub for oncology pharmacy practitioners from around the world to access the breadth and depth of knowledge of ISOPP members and others on a 24-hour basis.
Members and non-members have access to certain resources complimentary and others through a paid subscription.
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After completing the questionnaire, a certificate will be available. Although not formally accredited for continuing medical education (CME) points, participation is equal to one hour of CME activity.
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JOPP is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and is free for ISOPP members.
You can access JOPP issues online anytime via ISOPP website (log in as a member). Please note that a hard copy of the Journal is no longer available.
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ISOPP members have access to Sosido, an online knowledge sharing platform designed to speed clinical knowledge transfer between healthcare professionals.
Are you a new ISOPP member? Then, you will receive an email in April to set up access to Sosido!
Through Sosido, ISOPP members will receive a weekly email digest summarizing all activity in the ISOPP community. You don’t have to log in to participate, and anything that’s important will come to your inbox, including:
- Updates on all publications authored by ISOPP members that week. Sosido automatically delivers a current and complete snapshot of the work of our ISOPP community.
- A summary of new articles released that week from journals chosen by you.
- Access to a secure ISOPP members-only forum to ask and answer questions.
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You can Follow us on ISOPP’s Social Media
ISOPP is the world’s gateway to oncology pharmacy research and practice. This is the place you come to learn about the latest developments in oncology pharmacy, to connect with pioneers in cancer treatment, and to expand your knowledge of oncology pharmacy practice worldwide.
Follow us on the following ISOPP’s Social Media to stay informed of upcoming ISOPP activities and conversations.
Share our posts with your network and encourage others to join ISOPP!
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You too can be an ISOPP
Quarterly Newsletter Author
We would love to hear about: conferences (virtual or in person) and/or education events / program you may have attended, or a ‘Day in the life of a <name country> oncology pharmacist’ during the COVID19 outbreak or anything else you would like to share with ISOPP members in oncology pharmacy and your practice.
ISOPP’s Newsletter, published quarterly and sent via email directly to members, is the home of international discussion on oncology pharmacy research and practice and ISOPP news and business. We are always looking for contributions.
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Are you or your national organization looking for a way to reach ISOPP members for a research study, to share information or other related oncology pharmacy matters?
There are several ways to reach ISOPP members:
ISOPP will distribute your survey, if it meets set criteria. This service is free if the principal investigator or co-investigator is an ISOPP member, and is available to non-members for a fee of $750 CAD.
Many ISOPP members are part of healthcare teams involved in cancer prevention, treatment, supportive care, and symptom management. If you would like to reach them to share information about a job posting, a product launch, a conference or other related oncology pharmacy matters, ISOPP will distribute an email on your behalf and post the information to the ISOPP website. Check out the cost for a one-time email distribution!
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ISOPP's Society and Symposium Management Office
Sea to Sky Meeting and Association Management is ISOPP's Society and Symposium Management Office. We support ISOPP’s volunteer leadership (Secretariat, its Committees, Task Forces and Work Groups), its members and other stakeholders to help achieve ISOPP’s mission to advance oncology pharmacy care for patients around the world. If you have any questions about membership, services, Symposium or the Society, please contact the ISOPP Office directly as follows:
Direct: +1-604-984-6455
Suite 206, 201 Bewicke Avenue
North Vancouver, BC Canada V7M 3M7
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