We are pleased to announce that the Gynecologic Oncology Branch of the Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology has joined the IGCS Strategic Alliance Partner Program.

The Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology is a nonprofit organization that supports its members in a wide range of activities including education, research, and leadership in multidisciplinary cancer care. The BSSO helps to disseminate knowledge all over Brazil through educational events and awareness campaigns about cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially surgical treatment. The BSSO is responsible for the Certification of specialist in surgical oncology in Brazil.

Through the IGCS Strategic Partnership Alliance, over 100 new Brazilian surgical oncologists who specialize in gynecologic cancers are now a part of the IGCS Membership. They will gain access to IGCS Member benefits such as the Early Career Research & Publications Network, the online member Education Portal (including the new Pathology Corner), AAGL’s SurgeryU video library, and discounted registration for the IGCS Annual Global Meeting and contribute significantly to IGCS programs and education over time.

We want to thank the BSSO leaders who worked to make this partnership possible: Dr. Reitan Ribeiro (BSSO Scientific Director), Dr. Glauco Baiocchi, (BSSO Vice Director-International Relations), and Dr. Alexandre Ferreira Oliveira (BSSO President). Of course, we must acknowledge IGCS Council Member, Dr. Rene Pareja (Colombia) for his work in building relationships and strengthening IGCS’s reach across Latin America.

Dr. Alexandre Oliveira said, “we are pleased and honored to join the IGCS Strategic Alliance Partner Program. BSSO mission is aligned with IGCS to provide the best care of women in gynecologic cancer.”

Brazil, officially Federative Republic of Brazil, Portuguese República Federativa do Brasil, is a country in South America that occupies half the continent’s landmass. Brazil is the fifth most populous country on Earth and accounts for one-third of Latin America’s population. Most of the population is concentrated among the eastern seaboard although its capital is located far inland.

According to a study published in BMC Cancer, “There are major disparities in the availability of high-complexity oncology services and a high variability in the types of specific services available in Brazil.” In fact, the BSSO in 2020 published guidelines in the Journal of Surgical Oncology for surgical treatment of endometrial cancer in regions with limited resources, concluding that cancer patients in resource limited regions can receive adequate treatment although the first option should be referral to specialized centers with more resources.

IGCS President, Dr. Robert Coleman said, “it is very strategic for IGCS to bring the BSSO into our Strategic Alliance Program. The contributions they will make to IGCS are endless, including their surgical expertise. We are excited to share our programs and collegiality with the BSSO members.”

IGCS looks forward to our partnership with the BSSO, to serve the gynecologic cancer professionals in the region, unite them with our global community, and to find ways to achieve our common goals to fight gynecologic cancers through training, education, and public awareness.

Sincerely,

Mary Eiken, MS

The International Gynecologic Cancer Society stands at the forefront in the global fight against gynecologic cancers, supporting and sponsoring programs “to enhance the care of women with gynecologic cancer worldwide through education and training and public awareness.”

Consistent with this mission and the current heightened global awareness of, and attention to, social and health inequity, IGCS is issuing this statement outlining its position on these important matters. Most succinctly put, IGCS supports all who espouse social and health equity around the globe.

Our statement provides clear context and specificity to our longstanding and forward-moving embrace of these important social justice and human right imperatives. We hope that it stimulates dialogue/discourse, and we welcome your comments. Most importantly, we hope that it prompts programming and actions that improve the lives of girls, women, and communities worldwide.

We would like to thank the working group for drafting the statement:

• Dr. Andreas Obermair (Australia)
• Dr. Marie Plante (Canada)
• Dr. Michael Quinn (Australia)
• Dr. Ritu Salani (USA)
• Ms. Mary (Dicey) Jackson Scroggins (USA)

To continue the discourse, add to the literature, and prompt discussion and most importantly action, IGCS is currently drafting an article focused on global health disparities. The article will:

• elucidate IGCS’ position more completely
• site and explore specific systemic patterns and institutions that support or perpetuate inequities
• highlight areas of women’s well-being that go beyond gynecologic cancer but are integral to their health and that of their communities
• offer an action plan for moving forward.

In the coming weeks, we will review IGCS operations and programming for areas of potential improvement relative to issues of global health equity. Where appropriate and needed, we will enhance or restructure these areas such that they more explicitly align with our core belief that global health equity is a social justice and human rights imperative—one that we fully support.

After these initial assessments, we will regularly monitor programming and new program development for consistency with our core values summarized in the statement and with the attainment of documentable enhanced global health equity. Of course, we will keep members informed of this ongoing effort, programming adjustments, and progress in this important work. And, we will need and request your help in this organization-wide commitment to global health equity.

Statement

Global Health Equity: A Social Justice and Human Rights Imperative

IGCS Supports All Who Espouse Social and Health Equity Around the Globe 

As a core principle, the concept of global health equity—the absence of systematic disparities in health to allow the opportunity for every person to attain her (or his) full health potential—is embedded in the mission of the International Gynecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) and is reflected in the breadth of our membership and the design and implementation of our programs.

With over 3,100 members from low-, middle-, and high-income countries around the globe, IGCS has purposefully developed an inclusive membership framework that encourages interaction and growth across diverse social, political, and health care systems. Through this framework, IGCS connects our members with specific needs to those with corresponding resources and programs; forms partnerships; educates, trains, and mentors clinicians, survivors-patients, and caregivers; and otherwise enhances benefits to women not only in optimal but also in the most challenging circumstances and environments.

Since our establishment in 1987 as a forum for the worldwide exchange of scientific information, IGCS has grown as a model for global health equity, and consistent with that history and our current operation, IGCS supports individuals and organizations meaningfully engaged, at whatever level, in the journey toward social and health equity worldwide.

As we lead the global fight against gynecologic cancers, we do so with the clear understanding that prompting, promoting, and inspiring maximum achievable health outcomes for every girl and woman (and thus every community)—wherever and under whatever circumstance she might live—are fundamental to the social justice and human rights imperative of global health equity, irrespective of

• national origin or political system
• location of residence/citizenship
• race or ethnicity
• religion
• sexual orientation and/or gender identity
• local, national, or regional leadership
• sociodemographic factors
• geopolitics
• any other intervening factor

In keeping with this understanding and by focusing our work and service where they can have the greatest impact on health and well-being, IGCS supports the empowerment of girls and women—and the health professionals who serve them—so they can attain the best health and life outcomes specific to but not limited to gynecologic cancers.

In the coming weeks and months, IGCS will review our programming. Furthermore, as an act of social responsibility, we will continually review the health equity-explicit initiatives within our portfolio and identify the need for new initiatives where none exist. After all, our mission “to enhance the care of women with gynecologic cancer worldwide through education and training and public awareness” and our demonstrated commitment to global health equity explicitly require as much.

Download PDF of this statement.

Dear IGCS Members and Friends,

This year has been like no other in our lifetime. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been affected by the coronavirus and I would like to express my gratitude to those of you who are frontline workers and caregivers who have selflessly provided care to the most vulnerable in impossible circumstances. You give your strength to so many. I would also like to recognize and applaud the scientists and researchers within our community who dedicate their careers to scientific innovation and the development of life-saving technologies and therapies. Your work is so important.

I think this year it has been more apparent than ever that we are all connected regardless of our beliefs, culture, or geography. I am heartened by what I have seen this year – the global collaboration, support, and communication that has continued despite our inability to gather in the same rooms. The challenges of this year jumpstarted our virtual programs which allowed us to reach thousands of healthcare professionals, advocates, patient-survivors, and collaborate with organizational partners from all over the world. Many of you are new to the IGCS community – I am so glad you are here.

Thank you for participating in our virtual events whether it be our Surgical Film Festivals, Virtual Tumor Boards, Global Patient Perspectives Roundtables, and of course the 2020 Annual Global Meeting and the Survivor-Caregiver Public Summit. Through it all, I have seen how you have been supportive of one another. What a comfort it has been to know that we were never alone; that others were facing similar challenges and that we could find solutions to shared problems together. Thank you for your dedication, collaboration, and courage.

As 2020 comes to an end and knowing that this holiday season may not be as festive as previous years, I wish you moments of peace amid difficult situations, connections with family and friends even if you cannot touch, and the comfort of warm memories of holidays past. We are seeing glimmers of promise that the pandemic will wane, so let’s welcome 2021 with hope.
Thank you for being a part of our community. I wish you all a safe and joyful holiday season and may the New Year bring you good health and happiness.

Sincerely,

Mary C. Eiken, MS
IGCS CEO