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september 7, 2016 \ newsweekly - € 0,75 \ read more at www.flanderstoday.eu current affairs \ p2
politics \ p4
Hands full
There’s never a dull moment for Ben Weyts, the man in charge of Flanders’ traffic, tourism, animal rights and more \5
business \ p6
innovation \ p9
education \ p10
CHinese wHispers
THe CaT’s wHiskers
Echoes of Flanders’ 19th-century missionaries linger on in China’s churches
At Ghent’s new cafe, they come for the cakes and the coffee, but they stay for the cats
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A cut above cancer
art & living \ p11
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© rob stevens/kU leuven
leuven cancer institute leads combined effort against the disease senne starckx more articles by senne \ flanderstoday.eu
Formed last year, the Leuven Cancer Institute has brought together KU Leuven’s pioneering researchers and UZ Leuven’s medical staff to find the most holistic approach to cancer treatment. But the first challenge is combining the worlds of theory and practice
F
ive years ago, Johan Swinnen’s son, Pieter, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain tumour. The 13-year-old model student and promising tennis player survived, but must now use a wheelchair. Swinnen (pictured) also embodies the other side of cancer treatment, serving as the vice-president of the Leuven Cancer Institute (LKI), a multidisciplinary centre dedicated to cancer research. LKI was created last year from the merger of cancer divi-
sions at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) and the University Hospital of Leuven (UZ Leuven). The transition process involved hundreds of researchers, doctors, nurses, managers and other personnel, as well as more than 30,000 patients. “We’re actually not even done registering all of the personnel,” says Griet Van der Perre, who oversees communication. Overlooking the merger is Jo Van Lint, the co-ordinator for translational research at LKI. Think of him as the proverbial concierge, whose task is to identify new developments and figure out their applicability in cancer patients. These can include latest findings in molecular biology, and also new insights into hospital care and patient psychology. At LKI, Van Lint acts as a matchmaker who brings together people of different medical backgrounds. “Scientists and
clinicians often need to communicate with each other and be aware of each other’s work,” he says. “That sounds simple, but in a large institution like ours, it isn’t.” With the merger of the cancer divisions, scientific researchers from KU Leuven joined up with doctors and nurses from the university hospital. So how do you connect people who are used to working in very distinct settings? “First of all, we have to know about each other,” explains Van Lint. “So we’ve created opportunities for people to meet and exchange ideas.” Asking people to talk to one another is one thing, but how can they better understand each other? “There’s indeed a gap between clinicians and scientists,” he says. “Many clinicians lack sufficient information about basic research subjects. But scientists could also benefit from an expert clinical continued on page 7