The 10th World Congress of Psycho-Oncology will take place in Madrid 9 - 13 June 2008 organized by IPOS’s Board of Directors 2008 Congress Committee members and the Spanish Psycho-Oncology Society (SEPO).

Many years have passed since the first world Congress of psycho-oncology took place in Beaune France in 1992. Valuable advances have been made in both clinical and research areas of the field since then contributing to the growth of IPOS as well as the development of new national psycho-oncology societies now actively participating in our very successful world Congresses. Psycho-oncology is now widely recognised as an important part of cancer care which provides among other things tools for the prevention of cancer as well as for the improvement of patient quality of life along the disease continuum.

The 10th World Congress will serve as a forum to present and discuss current advances in the field to improve interaction among professionals and scientific societies to promote the practice of psycho-oncology to provide education and training to all health professionals involved in the care of cancer patients and their families and to foster the careers and interests of young professionals.

The theme is Advancing Culturally Diverse Approaches in Psycho-Oncology and Palliative Care accurately describing two main objectives of this meeting: To further integrate psychological aspects of advanced disease in our scientific programs and to increase participation of culturally diverse professionals in the Congress specifically those from Spanish-speaking countries around the globe. The Congress will be enriched by the IPOS Psychosocial Academy two days intensive training workshops that will provide the opportunity to work on specific themes and will include both new and returning speakers and topics this year.

Madrid is a friendly modern city with a significant body of history and art which is undoubtedly one of its main attractions. Visits to the Prado Museum hosting one of the world’s largest collections of paintings the Reina Sofía modern art Museum or the Thyssen-Bornemisza are easily combined with day trips to historical and artistic gems d World Heritage Sites by UNESCO (Toledo Segovia and Avila). Trips to the tapas bars and nightlife in a city that never sleeps can be exhausting but unforgettable. The Congress gala dinner is set to provide many exquisite recipes alongside flamenco entertainment.

I would like to thank all those who are making this Congress possible: IPOS Board members SEPO Francisco Gil president of our Local Scientific Committee and all other National and International Committee members who are significantly contributing to the expected success of our 2008 meeting thank you all. Thanks also to all those hundreds of professionals that have submitted their work in order to share it with us.

It is an honour for me as the 10th World Congress Chair to draw your attention to a very promising scientific meeting that is being prepared with much care and enthusiasm. I dearly hope that attendees enjoy the meeting and get a glimpse of our beautiful country too.

More information on the Congress can be found at http://www.ipos-society.org/ipos2008.

I look forward to seeing you in Madrid!

Maria Die Trill PhD
IPOS 10th World Congress Chair