Young ICON

Dr Dominic Joseph
DM Student
AIIMS
New Delhi

I was runner up at the ICON medical oncologists debate at Puri January 2005. Both the conference and the debate were enriching experiences for me. It was also and occasion to meet friends from other institutes and spend time with them. Though I was disappointed at losing in the finals I returned wiser from the experience. I used the prize money to attend ASCO 2006 conference.

Dr.Nikhilesh G. Patil
MD Radiotherapy
TMH
Mumbai

Young ICON activities are very interesting and enjoyable; the best part of the young ICON activities in contrast to other conferences/meetings is that the results of the competition are not biased towards any particular institute or any particular student.

There is a lot of excitement to participate in the Young ICON activities at the ICON meetings. I was fortunate enough to win Young ICON best thesis competition at CMC, Vellore, which boosted my morale to participate for oncology debate held at Deharadun. It was great fun fighting for Chemotherapy in spite of being a hard core Radiation Oncologist and Medical Oncologist fighting for IMRT against Chemotherapy.

May I request ICON to send the topics of debate at the stipulated time, which will unable the student to prepare well and this will directly reflect in his/her presentation and the jury will also enjoy the academic discussion.

The cash prize that I have won is going to be spent on my local travel expenses for ACORD workshop which is scheduled to be held on 3rd September 2006 in Australia.

I wish I could participate this years ICON meeting also but I cannot do so as I have to allow my other fellow registrars to come forward and participate.

Iam looking forward to become an active member of ICON.

I wish ICON all the very best. Please continue to do good work.

Dr Narayan Karanth
DM Student Medical Oncology
TMH
Mumbai

It was nice to be part of the ICON-14 held at Dehradun. It was a wonderful experience. I gained immensely from the debate competition. I could better myself on various fronts.

I made new friends. Informative, useful scientific sessions.

It was well planned and arranged, beautiful location, thrilling experience(I am sure u will also agree).

I am very keen to be part of future ICON proceedings also.

Hope I am lucky enough to get the same.

Dr Tarun Puri
Senior Resident
Department of Radiotherapy
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
New Delhi

I participated in the debating competition at the 14th ICON meeting which was held at Dehradun, Uttaranchal from 10th – 12th March 2006. It was a team debate event comprising of two member teams from various institutes across India. I along with my colleague, Dr Monica Malik represented the department of Radiotherapy, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. There were three rounds, quarter-final, semi-final and final, with eliminations at each stage. The topics for the quarter-finals were given to us two days in advance, however the topics for the semi-final and final rounds were given on the spot. The debate necessitated not only academic inputs but also skills of public speaking, defense and argument. We were adjudged the best team in the end and what made the victory even sweeter was that the result was announced by noted singer Sh Jagjit Singh. We were given a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 25000 each and I intend to utilize my prize money to attend the upcoming ESMO congress at Istanbul. Participating in the debate was a truly memorable experience, one that I will cherish forever.

Dr. Abhishek Joshi, MD
Consultant Oncologist
Patel Cancer Hospital
Jalandhar – 144001.

First of all let me begin by expressing my heartfelt gratitude to you, for giving me this opportunity to participate and be part of the 12th ICON meet held at Puri, from 29th – 30th Jan, 2005.

I was really fascinated by this idea of “debate” introduced for the first time at this meet. It is a wonderful platform for young medical oncology students to come and fight it out in the healthy spirit of professionalism and academics. I am positive that this innovative idea has helped not only me but also other participants in their growth as a person and oncologist both. I wish this activity is there to last forever.

I must also thank you for the excellent arrangements made for the participants – the travel, the accommodation, the organization, the internet facility provided, the laptops given and also any help provided to me immediately when I needed one.

The CME on lung cancer held at Bhubaneshwar on 28th Jan, was very informative and useful. We were abreast on the Indian epidemiology, classification, staging, pathology, imaging, surgery, chemotherapy and recent advances in lung cancer by some stalwarts in our country.
The choice of location for this conference was perfectly chosen. I also had the opportunity to see the cultural diversity of India. The banquet organized on the night of 29th Jan, was a sheer treat to the eyes.

The debate at ICON was a three stage affair with 8 candidates competing against each other in quarterfinals followed by semis and the grand finale. Topics were chosen from amongst the controversies in medical oncology and given to the candidates on the spot. Each candidate was given 2 hours to prepare a powerpoint presentation of 5-7 minutes.
Due to my selection at all stages of the debate, I could not attend some lectures of the meet, but in spite of this, I believe this conference has helped me both in personal and professional front- it has been a confidence raiser for me.

Dr Prasad E
Radiation Oncologist
CMC Vellore

I extend my sincere thanks and gratitute to the ICON for providing the grant for conducting the trial which was awarded the Best Project Proposal in the 15th ICON conference held at Trivandrum, September 2006.

The ICON grant had helped me to do the Phase 1 trial of weekly Paclitaxel and Cisplatin with Radiation therapy in the treatment of Carcinoma Cervix. The expenses for the trial were met from the ICON grant. This gave me an opportunity to learn how to write a study proposal and apply for funding. On having been sucessful in getting the funds it allowed me to carry out the study adhering to the protocol, without compromise in patient care. This had helped me in learning about conducting an unbiased trial, patient documentation and reporting adverse events. I have also learnt to maintain accounts and carry out the administrative responsibilities involved in the study viz procuring drugs, stock keeping and accounting. Subsequently the work was published in the Journal - Clinical Oncology 2009 Aug;21(6):488-93. Epub 2009 Apr 21.
A phase 2 study was also done in continuation with the previous study in the institution. The results were excellent and it is soon to be published.
The phase 1 study was accepted for presentation at the 50th annual meeting of ASTRO, Boston, USA in september 2008. The abstract was published in International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, Volume 72, Issue 1, Supplement 1, 1 September 2008, Page S361.

I was awarded fellowship in HDR brachytherapy and Gynecologic Oncology Travel grant for the year 2009. This paved me a great way and exposure in the field of Gynecologic Oncology. I attribute all these to the trial which would not have been possible without the ICON funding.

The conduct of this trial and interactions with eminent Oncologist whom I met during the ICON meetings, gave me the insight into the potential research areas in the field of Oncology. This gave the confidence and determination of increasing the cure rates and survival in cancer patients by exploiting the newer concurrent chemoradiation regimen.

These are the invaluable things I got out of this experience which gave me the insight and the enthusiasm to propose and write up many more original studies.

Thanks a lot for the ICON team for encouraging young oncologists' ideas. With your relentless support and encouragement, I am sure that lots of budding young oncologists will take up the research areas as the career and bring laurels and wonders.