The 1st Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration Workshop on Cancer and Children (IRCCC 2009) was held on the 14th of November 2007, in Thessaloniki, Greece. The workshop was co-organised by the University of Sheffield, SEERC, and CITY College, and featured a panel of internationally renowned speakers from the UK, Greece, Germany, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey.
The following speakers participated in the workshop:
- Dr Helen Kosmidis Children's Hospital, Athens
- Prof. Christine Eiser, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK
- Dr Marek Blatny, Institute of Psychology, Academy of Science, Brno, Czech Republic
- Dr Veronica Velenek, Institute of Oncology, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Dr Tomas Kepak, Institute of Psychology, Academy of Science, Brno, Czech Republic
- Prof. Richard Eiser, Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, UK
- Dr Marios Pavlides, , Children's Hospital, Erlangen, Germany
- Dr Ann McNeill, School of Community Health, University of Nottingham, UK
- Mr Lambros Lazuras, SEERC, Thessaloniki, Greece
The majority of the panelists referred to smoking as one of the reasons that contributes to the increase of child cancer. Specialists advised that proper diet, lack of exposure to tobacco smoke and limited exposure to radiation from the sun can help prevent some forms of cancer, both for children and for adults.
The main objective of the event was to establish a centre of excellence for research on cancer issues as they relate to young people, at, and through the South East Europe Research Centre in Thessaloniki, Greece. This involves an established collaboration with leading paediatricians, oncologists and behavioural scientists within the Balkan region and beyond.
