Please join me in welcoming the Indonesian Society of Gynecologic Oncology (INASGO) as a new Strategic Alliance Partner.
INASGO was founded in 2000 with a current membership of 110 gynecologic oncology practitioners. We are thrilled to welcome them to the IGCS community and are excited to engage with the INASGO leadership Prof Andrijono and Prof Purwoto to hear from them their vision for the future of gynecologic oncology, pathology, and radiation oncology in Indonesia. We look forward to participating in their strategic planning process and to identify ways we can work together towards improving the health and care of Indonesian women.
Profs Quinn and Obermair will attend and speak at the INASGO Biennial Meeting in July on behalf of IGCS in Labuan Bajo, East Nusa Tenggara. At this meeting, IGCS, the INASGO leadership and Prof Peter Heintz who for many years has successfully conducted a training program for Indonesians in Holland will further discuss areas of partnership, including the implementation of the IGCS Global Curriculum and Mentorship Program in the region. According to Dr. Quinn, “the purpose of the Global Curriculum is to extend quality gynecologic oncology training and mentorship opportunities across the globe. We are extremely pleased for the opportunity to help train gynecologic oncologists and encourage multidisciplinary cancer care throughout Indonesia. Their leadership commitment to education in the country has been and continues to be outstanding.”
Indonesia is the world’s 4th most populous country made up of 17,000 islands with a population of over 266 million people. About 56% of the population resides on the largest island, Java, on which the capital city of Jakarta is located. The most common gynecologic cancer in Indonesia is cervical cancer, followed by ovarian, then uterine cancer. Even with government funded cancer screening programs in place through the Ministry of Health, 80% of Indonesian women are not aware of or do not participate in screening, according to a study presented at ESMO Asia in 2017.
There is much work to do in Indonesia and IGCS is committed to assisting in a long-term plan that will continue to improve the outcome of women with gynecologic malignancies.
Sincerely,
Mary Eiken, RN, MS
IGCS CEO