The city is hosting this year’s Inaugural Asia Pediatric Oncology Leadership Meeting with 35 doctors and multi-sectoral collaborators from 12 different countries. They will be discussing how to improve the cure for children with cancer.
“I am very much humbled with this great honor of your presence and the responsibility of welcoming you to my home country as one of the pioneering organizers from the Singapore team that brought together men and women dedicated to the care of pediatric cancer patients amid the most challenging and difficult circumstances in the Asia Pacific region,” said Dr. Mae Dolendo, the head of the Department of Children’s Cancer Institute at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).
The three-day meeting aims to address common problems and share experiences to improve survival and cure for kids.
“We are very proud that this meeting outside Singapore is first held in Davao and I hope this is such a milestone and a very memorable thing particularly for all Davaoeños,” she said.
The Asia Pacific Pediatric Oncology aims to cure 60% of the children with cancer worldwide, in which the most common cancer for children is leukemia.
“Being able to do this meeting, bringing all of these people, to see by themselves that we are capable of doing things by using whatever we have, our own strengths, our own talents, the government’s resources, we are able to accomplish all of these things, and I think that is the inspiration of Davao,” she said, pointing out as to why Davao will be the host of this year’s meeting.
She said the meeting marks a significant evolution of the collaborative efforts in Asia.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital USA head Dr. Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo said “our relationships in the Asia Pacific region have strengthened through the years, beginning here in the Philippines with a partnership with SPMC. It is exciting to see growth here, from four beds shared with other services to a dedicated multi-disciplinary Children’s Cancer Institute.”
The Asia Pediatric Oncology Leadership Meeting is hosted by the House of Hope Foundation for Kids with Cancer in collaboration with the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the VIVA Foundation for Children with Cancer, with the support of the National University Hospital, Singapore, KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, and SPMC.
This meeting, which opened yesterday, runs until Sept. 22.
