Third Biennial World Summit of Brain Tumour Patient Advocates, London, UK - 19th to 22nd October 2017
Tina Mitchell Skinner
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tina Mitchell Skinner is the Founder and CEO of Bristol-based UK charity Brain Tumour Support, an organisation dedicated to providing specialist, tailored support services to anyone affected by any type of brain tumour. Tina graduated in 1987 with a BA in Modern Languages with Information Systems from the University of the West of England. Following two years with international company IATA at their Executive Offices in Geneva, Tina then took up a variety of marketing posts before moving into management training and development within the UK financial services industry. Tina took a career break to raise their son, during which time her husband Paul was diagnosed with a grade IV glioblastoma. Paul died in early 2003, only 18 months after his diagnosis. The charity was set up in his memory. Now, fast approaching its fifteenth year, Brain Tumour Support has been instrumental in many developments within the brain tumour community and Tina continues to steer the charity towards a very patient-focused future. The charity’s vision is that no one feels alone when facing the effects of a brain tumour diagnosis. The charity’s working partnership with Macmillan is now well established and has resulted in the charity becoming one of the leading providers in patient support through its wide network of patient and carer groups, specialist counsellors and support workers. They also have a key role in raising public awareness of the devastating impact of brain tumours. Watching Paul battle his illness with such humility, incredible faith and courage, Tina’s personal experience of caring for and losing such a wonderful person has given her the determination to ensure that Brain Tumour Support will continue to make a positive difference to the lives of all the families who face a similar journey.
Yuko Moue
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Yuko Moue’s daughter was diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumour and treated by operation, partial radiation and
allogeneic stem cell transplantation in 1998 when she was one year and five months. Yuko’s daughter is now 20 years old and still has some treatments for complications and late effects such as endocrine disorder, fertility problems, and teeth bud hypoplasia. Yuko participates in the Pediatric Brain Tumor Network of Japan (PBTN) which is a self-support family group to improve quality of life. She has been Representative of PBTN since 2014. As each pediatric brain tumor is a very rare disease, patients and their families cannot easily come face-to-face to exchange information about the diseases and their problems. PBTN has organized an internet website community for patients’ families for almost 12 years. Many website communities such as those for craniopharyngioma, germ cell tumor, brainstem tumours, ependymoma tumours, and additionally regional groups were born from the PBTN website. As well as commnunications on the web, PBTN also organises camping for patients and their families every year in summer and makes efforts to strengthen bonds between them. Yuko also has helped the network of 29 pediatric cancer patients families’ groups since 2008 by using mailing lists. On behalf of them, she sought the improvement of the medical care system for pediatric cancers when she was a member of the National Council for Promoting Anti-Cancer Measures initiated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan during 2011. As a result, the Japanese government has begun to emphasize action within the pediatric cancer medical system, especially for intractable types of cancer, including pediatric brain tumors, since 2012. Yuko again joined the National Council for Promoting AntiCancer Measures to seek the improvement for rare and pediatric cancers during 2015-2017.
Thierry Muanza
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thierry M. Muanza, B.A., M.Sc., M.D., FRCPC, is an Assistant Professor to the Departments of Oncology and an Associate Member of the Departments Experimental Medicine and Neurology & Neurosurgery of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. He is also the co-Medical Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program. Following a Bachelor’s degree in biology at Suffolk University and a Master’s degree in biomedical sciences from Northeastern University in Boston, MA, USA, Dr. Muanza obtained his Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree from the Université de Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. He subsequently pursued his residency in radiation oncology at McGill University, as well as a Translational Research Fellowship, ASTRO-NCI, in radiation oncology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, USA.
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