Wednesday 12 January 2022, 12h-13h CET
About the webinar
Cancer care in Belgium has been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Unprecedented policy measures were implemented to create extra capacity for COVID-19 patients, including postponing all non-urgent consultations, medical tests, and interventions for cancer patients. Recent increases in hospital admissions and sickness absence among hospital personnel present major challenges for cancer care.
A clear understanding of the delays in cancer diagnosis and treatment is imperative to understand the health impact on cancer patients, a particularly vulnerable group within this pandemic. Three leading researchers in the field shared their latest findings on cancer care disruptions in Belgium and the related health effects.
Programme
12h00 | Welcome & Introduction — Dr Laura Van den Borre, Sciensano &VUB |
12h05 | Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients and staff in radiation oncology departments in Belgium: a national survey — Aude Vaandering, Cliniques Universitaires St Luc & UCLouvain Download the presentation |
12h20 | Decline and incomplete recovery in cancer diagnoses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Belgium — Dr Hanna Peacock, Belgian Cancer Registry Download the presentation |
12h35 | Excess mortality among Belgian cancer survivors during the first two COVID-19 waves — Dr Geert Silversmit, Belgian Cancer Registry Download the presentation |
12h50 | Closing remarks — Sabine Corachan, Ligue francophone des Usagers des Services de Santé (LUSS) |
Speakers
![Aude Vaandering](/images/aude-vaandering.jpg)
Aude Vaandering
Aude Vaandering is a quality manager in the radiation oncology department of the Cliniques Universitaires St Luc. In parallel, she started a PhD focusing on quality audits and quality indicators in radiotherapy at the Université Catholique de Louvain. As a result, she is highly involved in the organization of clinical audits and the collection and analysis of quality indicators in radiotherapy in Belgium.
![Hanna Peacock](/images/hanna-peacock.jpeg)
Hanna Peacock
Dr. Hanna Peacock is a data analyst at the Belgian Cancer Registry. She is currently collaborating on several projects measuring quality indicators for cancer care and, recently, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer diagnosis and treatment in Belgium. Prior to joining the Belgian Cancer Registry, she completed her PhD in molecular and vascular biology at KU Leuven.
![Geert Silversmit](/images/geert-silversmit.jpg)
Geert Silversmit
Dr. Geert Silversmit has been working as a statistician at the Belgian Cancer Registry for the last 8 years. He is interested in implementing and applying methodology on the Belgian cancer registration data, with a special focus on cancer survival.
![Sabine Corachan](/images/sabine-corachan.jpg)
Sabine Corachan
Sabine Corachan is a project officer for medicines and patient involvement in health research at the Ligue francophone des Usagers des Services de Santé (LUSS), the Belgian French-speaking federation of patient organizations. Ensuring patient participation and defending the patients voice in health policies is part of the cores missions of the LUSS. Sabine Corachan is a molecular biologist by training, with prior to working at LUSS, 20 years of experience in managing operations of clinical development and clinical study governance in profit and non-profit sectors.