Brazil
Supportive care in cancer around the globe

Country Specific Leadership Responses:
Maria Elvira P. Correa -  Brazil
July, 2007

Supportive care for cancer patients is growing in Brazil and it has been developing in different areas involved in cancer treatment.

We have been working on oral supportive care, trying to improve the patient’s access to this “special” modality of treatment as well as the dentists (Oral Medicine) knowledge on this area.

In order to archive these goals, we have been closely working with the Brazilian Society of Estomatology (SOBE), the Brazilian Society of Bone Marrow Transplant and the Brazilian Society and Brazilian Colleague of Hematology (HEMO).

For this year, the oral supportive care will be discussed on the SOBE and HEMO Meetings. The SOBE meeting will be happening from Jul 29th to Aug 2sd and the HEMO meeting, on November 7th to 10th.

For both meeting members from MASCC/ISOO were invited as speaker (Dr. Mark Schubert – for SOBE and HEMO, Dr. Douglas Peterson and Dr. Cesar Migliorati – both for HEMO).

Concerns:

Brazil is the largest South America Country, with 188.989.150 inhabitants. There are around 400 cancers centers spread out in areas with social-cultural differences. There is no available data in order to get numbers regarding the supportive care for cancer patients.

1. Few programs have been developing in order to minimize those differences;

2. There are different “societies” (ex. Head and Neck Surgery Society, Oncology Society, etc) and how should we work in order to emphasis the supportive care on these Societies?

3. The group has to have more people joining and working with – there are almost 40 dentists working in different centers and almost of them, working “isolated. Some time it is difficult to them to take part in events and meetings. The organization of workshops or even regional meeting in supportive care would be a solution for this.

4. Despite research projects, how the group can reach grants (Pharmaceutical Industry, etc) for this purpose?