The first international Oncology Conference was held in Basrah in May 6-7, 2009

We greatly appreciate all our Colleagues , researchers and our friends who attend  and actively participate in the conference . sincere appreciation and thanks is addressed for the IMC and for colleagues who worked day and night to make the gathering possible

Hi Everyone,
Terry and I are rested and going onward in California.  I sincerely appreciated meeting all of you and was deeply moved by the hearts of the Iraqis.  I am excited about our bridge of friendship and look forward in working together towards solutions.
The following are action items that I will be involved with:
1.  Dr. Richard Yacob and I will be hopefully meeting with Dr. Lawerence Wagman, CEO of a new Center for Cancer Prevention and Treatment at St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange County, Calfornia to discuss an 18th month training program for 2 Iraqi doctors in  radiation oncology.  I am in the process of setting up an appointment.
2.  I will be talking with Dr. Don Blake from University California Irvine to encourage a continuation of  previous research done in Basrah relating to atmospheric gases and the high percentage of Benzene.
3.  Contact will be established with Dr. Barzani from the Kurdish Regional Government, Ministry of Health,
to ask that they would share with ones in Basra what has been implemented in Erbil concerning education about tobacco and cancer. 
4.  Will continue the process of establishing a Rotary Club and Sister City relationship with Villa Park and Basrah.  In addition, will continue dialogue with Japanese colleagues and Rotary Clubs to obtain funding for a Mobile Mammography Unit.
 
I will provide all of you updates on the above items as they progress. 
 
I hope we can go onward together never forgetting our loved ones in Iraq.  Let us look forward to the next International Oncology Conference in Basrah!
 
Juliana Ditty
 
 

Dear all,

   It was truly great seeing you all in Basrah!
   Yesterday I came back to Japan safely, and tonight I came back to my home in Hiroshima after teaching a class at Kobe Univ.

 
   I hope we can work together in some way or other from now on.  We are planning to hold a reporting gathering in Hiroshima this coming Friday; the media here is showing strong interest in our reports about our visit to Basrah and the Conference.

 
                   Warmest regards,     Kazashi

 

Dear all

I just came back to Sapporo Japan last night.
It was great to get to know you all in Basra, and happy to hear you've already started working on new project.

I myself is now planning to have a reporting gathering in my city and also trying to report our visit to Basra through local media.

Hope we can work toghether in some way.

I am planning to go to US this year for my film project.
(I am a filmmaker, too. My latest work is a documentary film on people in USA who've been affected by war, like veterans, families, recruits and homeless people in US)

Hope to see you there, too.

with best regards,


Asako KAGEYAMA
co-presindet of Save Iraq Children Sapporo (Japan)
producer of "God Bless America" (documentary film)

 

Greetings everyone.
It is good to hear from you and see activities already unfolding. Amy and Richard and I had a good chance to talk on  part of the journey home.  Additional activities RE: Rad. Onc. training  relate to contacts at Fraser Health Authority (for me here in Vancouver) and UW (for Amy in Seattle).  I am also beginning a collaboration w/  Dr. Alrudainy who I met at the conference has done important work on possible environmental etiologies of cancer in the Basrah governant.

Finally, Amy and I are working on a way to get stories we heard about the extreme conditions our Basrawi colleagues suffered under, particularly during the dark periods of 2006-2008, told to the public health and wider community.

I would like to make a specific request to our Japaneses colleagues:

I believe you heard about the children's tooth project that has been coordinated by Dr. Tom Fasy at Mount Sinai, New York University School of Medicine and Dr. Randy Parrish of Leicester Univ. in the UK. They have collected teeth from Basrawi and other Iraqi children in order to investigate the level of DU deposited in the teeth in relation to various suspected levels of exposure (including non-combat areas of Iraq). Do you think this is something you could raise money for in Japan? If so, I will ask Dr. Fasy to send you a copy of the proposal.

All the best everyone!
-Tim
 

Dear Dr. Mohammed Jasim & all the organising members of the conference

Thank you very much for all your welcomig us in Basra.
We were all more than happy to visit Basra.

I came home safe in Sapporo, Japan last night.
And am alreday hoping to return to Basra with more friends from Japan for next time.

with warmest regards,

Asako KAGEYAMA
co-presindet of Save Iraq Children Sapporo (JAPAN)

Dear Dr Jasim

Thank you for the e mail.
May I take this apportunity to thank you all for the warm welcome excellent hospitality.
Wish you all the best and look forward to serve my college again in the future.

Dr. Ayed Eden FRCPI, FRCPath.
Consultant Haematologist

Dear Dr. Mohammed,

I arrived yesterday back home in Vienna after a safe trip.

My great thanks to you and all the organizers of this conference. I know very well that all of you have done a lot of work to organize this conference and to make it possible to receive us, the guests from abroad. Considering all the difficulties in your country it was an outstanding work that all of you have done. I hope that this success will give you a lot of motivation going on in improving the health system in your country.

Thank you very much for all the famous Iraqi hospitality we experienced, for all the nice talks and all the efforts everybody did to make us enjoying this visit - and indeed I enjoyed it very much.

For me personal it was very emotional to be back in Basrah after almost four years and it was great to meet all the Iraqi friends. I hope to be able to come back soon.

Thank you very much and my best wishes for the future,
Dr. Eva

Dear Dr.Mohammed,

Just now I reached my home Japan safely.
Thank you very much for your kindness in Basrah.
I hope the relation between Iraq and Japan become more strong, taking this opportunity.
Thank you very much again.

Best regards,

Mariko Ono
JAPAN

Dear Dr. Jasim
Thank you for your kindness and your e-mail, I arrived tehran yesterday, actually there was no problem along my trip
Hope to see you soon

Best regards,
Dr. Afshin Moghadam

Friends,

It was wonderful to meet you in Basra this week, and the conference was a huge success!  My story at home will be that a scientific conference can be a great strategy for Basra to declare to the world, "We're open for business," and we want to engage our friends across the science and health communities in searching for truth and reconciliation.

Amy Hagopian

Thank you so much Dr. Mohammed Jasim,
I am most grateful for the opportunity to attend, and thank you for checking in with us about our safe arrival.
I am happily home.
Best wishes,
Amy

 

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