VII congress International Oncology International Students. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

250 students, eight lectures and round tables and nearly 20 experts will be the protagonists of the VII edition of the International Student Oncologycongress , organized entirely by students of the University of Navarra with the participation of students from other centers, such as the universities of Valencia, Autónoma de Madrid, Seville and Portugal.

The congress will begin tomorrow, Thursday, March 3, and will continue until Saturday, March 5, when the submission awards will be given to the best papers written by students of Medicine, Pharmacy, Science or Nursing.

The theme chosen for this year, "Cancer and Society", is, according to Dr. Salvador Martín Algarra -professor manager of the congress- "an area that we have had pending for several editions, as we saw the need to address how society, family, environment and the healthcare professionals themselves are organized to provide adequate healthcare coverage and support for cancer patients. From the moment the diagnosis is communicated, through the treatments - which can be long and hard - to recovery, which can also be prolonged and in which psychological support is fundamental".

In this sense, María Vitoria Sola, a student of 5th year of Medicine and board member communication of the organizing committee , stresses that this theme allows to open the participation to social institutions, "giving Oncology the opportunity to reach those who suffer from the disease beyond the patients: the family, the environment, etc.". "Since cancer is a disease with undoubted social involvement," adds the student, "we want to offer that dimension from the University and give all agents the opportunity to share it from the training".

Cancer and communication
In addition, for María Vitoria, participating in the congress allows students to acquire skills in issues that do not fit in the Study program but are key to the success of the conference, "such as the management of events, organizational experience or the relationship with teachers and students from other centers".

The keynote lectures -to be held at the auditorium of the Science Library of the University of Navarra- will be given by Dr. José Ramón Germá, director of the Strategic Plan of the Catalan Oncology high school -the first of its kind subject in Spain-; Dr. Manuel González-Barón, director of Oncology and Palliative Programs of MD Anderson International Spain and of the Chair of Medical Oncology and Palliative Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid. group -Dr. Begoña Barragán, president of the Spanish Cancer Patients Association (GEPAC), which represents all the Spanish cancer patient associations.