News: Cardio-Oncology Initiative in Australia

The Australia Chapter of IC-OS held the first-ever (in Australia to their knowledge) community information and Q&A event around cardio-oncology to raise awareness of heart health and answer questions of how best to look after heart health during and after cancer therapy (https://hmri.org.au/get-involved/events/cardio-oncology-qa-information-session/). They had a panel of medical and radiation oncologists, a cardiologist, a pharmacist and a nurse, and chaired by Dr. Doan Ngo. The session was excellent and very well-attended with more than 100 in person attendees and more online. The Honorable Minister Jennifer Aitchison (state member of parliament for Maitland and Minister for Regional transport, who herself is a cancer survivor) shared her story and expressed a lot of interest in supporting the program. The feedback from patients was overwhelmingly positive with many asking for this to be a recurring event. This really highlights a gap in patient education and clinical unmet need.