Co-Chairs

Professor Mei Krishnasamy

RGN; BA (Hons): DipN; MSC (Cancer Nursing): PhD

Professor Mei Krishnasamy is Professor/Director of the Academic Nursing Unit at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the VCCC Alliance Research & Education Lead, Cancer Nursing. She is the program champion for the VCCC Nurse-led Research Program and is honorary Professor of Cancer Nursing at the University of Melbourne.

Dr Vijaya Joshi

Health Equity Manager, VCCC Alliance

Vijaya is the Health Equity Manager at the VCCC Alliance. Prior to this Vijaya worked in a range of equity related roles in prevention and service deliver organisations including Our Watch, Menzies School of Health Research (Darwin), and Oxfam Australia. She is a member of the Research Evaluation Committee of the Australian Health Practitioners Regulation Agency, and Deputy Chair of the East Timor Hearts Fund.

Presenters

Professor Sanchia Aranda AM

RN PhD MN B. App Sci(Adv Nurs) GAICD

Professor Sanchia Aranda AM is regarded as one of the world’s pre-eminent experts in cancer control. With more than four decades’ experience as a clinician, researcher, educator and administrator, she has served as CEO of Cancer Council Australia, President of the Union for International Cancer Control and President of the International Society of Nurses in Cancer Care.

Professor Aranda is the inaugural Board Chair for the City Cancer Challenge Foundation and served on the Advisory Council for Cancer Australia for eight years until 2015. She also holds a part-time appointment as a Professor of Health Services Research at The University of Melbourne and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and is Deputy Chair of the board of VCCC Alliance.

Professor Aranda is particularly passionate about achieving greater equity in cancer care and outcomes across Australia, especially for First Nations Australians and those who have a lower socio-economic background, live in regional or remote areas or have a cancer type with typically poor survival.

Meg Rynderman OAM

Consumer Representative, Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre

Meg generously volunteers her time as a consumer representative for the Australian Cancer Survivorship Centre, (ACSC).

She comes to the ACSC as a survivor of recurrent Hodgkin disease and hormone positive breast cancer. Treatment for her disease included radiotherapy, high dose chemotherapy, stem cell transplant, bilateral mastectomy, reconstruction and breast implant capsulectomy. Meg also volunteers for Cancer Council Victoria’s Cancer Connect program. 

Meg’s 25+ year cancer journey has instilled in her a passion that other cancer survivors should be offered more appropriate support and follow-up care than she experienced in her early years and that cancer should no longer be seen as a one-off incident, but rather a whole-of-life health issue.  In 2021 Meg was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia for service to people living with cancer and the community.

Mary Duffy AM

Clinical Nurse Consultant: Lung Service, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre

Mary Duffy is an APN Clinical Nurse Consultant in the Lung Cancer Service   at the Peter Mac Callum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia and works primarily with patients who have lung cancer or mesothelioma, and their families.

Mary has worked with lung cancer patients for over 20 years in a variety of roles. Her areas of interest include all aspects of supportive care for people with lung cancer and mesothelioma   including, symptom management, patient and carer information, advocacy and support.

Mary is an active member of both, national and international, nursing and lung cancer professional organisations.