Higashi Sapporo Hospital was founded in 1983, with the objective of providing palliative care for cancer patients. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the hospital’s foundation. In commemoration, we will hold a two-day international conference on palliative care for cancer patients, here in Sapporo on Friday July 11th and Saturday July 12th, 2014.

In 1988, Higashi Sapporo Hospital established a sister relationship with Calvary Hospital in New York, fostering the exchange of a great amount of knowledge. And, through this relationship, we have had the opportunity to learn cancer patient palliative care theory and technique from a great number of specialists around the world, contributing to the development of the field of cancer patient palliative care throughout Japan.

As one example, in 1993, in cooperation with the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) and Calvary Hospital, we held an international conference on palliative care for cancer patients in Hawaii, titled Hawaii Conference: Cancer Care in the 1990’s Supportive Care Issues. The participants of the conference from Japan have gone on to become central figures in the promotion of palliative care for cancer patients in Japan. Also, in 1996, together with other participants of the Hawaii Conference, we sponsored the 1st Congress of the Japanese Society for Palliative Medicine in Sapporo.

Along with such efforts, Higashi Sapporo Hospital has established a strong reputation throughout Japan as a regional leader in palliative care for cancer patients. For example, in 2011, our hospital’s cancer patient deaths accounted for 15% of the cancer patient deaths in Sapporo City, which has a population of 1.9 million. This accomplishment has become greatly discussed.

The list of presenters scheduled to attend the Sapporo Conference from overseas is filled with specialists world-renowned for their expertise, to the point that this conference could be called a world summit on palliative medicine for cancer patients. We invite you to participate in the discussions, to help advance the field of cancer patient palliative care. I would also like to take this moment to thank Dr. Russell Portenoy of Beth Israel Medical Center and Dr. William Breitbart of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for their many important contributions to the planning of the Sapporo Conference, and their advice throughout.

Sapporo is famous for its many beautiful flowers
throughout the city in July. I sincerely hope that
you will have a chance to join us.

Kunihiko Ishitani MD, PhD
President
Higashi Sapporo Hospital

Dear Colleagues,

In 2014, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of Higashi Sapporo Hospital’s founding, we will hold the Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer.

Thanks to the monumental assistance of our colleagues in planning the event, we have put together the schedule as follows. We have had very positive feedback on the program contents from many of the palliative care specialists. We truly hope that everyone will be able to attend the event and participate in the debates in order to further the development of cancer treatment, especially palliative care.

We look forward to welcoming you in July next year,
amidst Sapporo’s wonderful summer season.

Kazuhiko Koike
Sapporo Conference for Palliative and Supportive Care in Cancer 2014
Steering Committee Chairman