Ilse Pluim went on a work visit to the International Society of Geriatric Oncology (SIOG) symposium, Ghent, Belgium, from November 20-22, 2025.
Thanks to the APH Aging and Later Life Work Visit Grant, I had the opportunity to attend the SIOG (International Society for Geriatric Oncology) conference in Ghent from 20–22 November 2025. As our project group is trying to raise awareness of oncologic geriatric rehabilitation and evolving to researching geriatric oncology as a whole, this conference presented the perfect opportunity to connect with other researchers and clinicians who see the importance of tailoring treatment to the frailty of the geriatric oncologic patient.
I had the chance to present my data on the trajectories of oncologic patients receiving geriatric rehabilitation, which sparked enthusiastic reactions from some the audience that I should use the data to try to change Dutch policy. I also had the opportunity to discuss my work with MediMix, a Belgian agency that reports on important medical conferences, which I hope will help bring even more attention to this topic.
Other than spreading the importance of (p)rehabilitation, which was still an underexposed subject during the conference, I attended a lot of interesting presentations on other aspects regarding treatment of the geriatric oncologic patient, which will definitely be inspiration for my future research projects. Furthermore, I connected with other researchers and clinicians with whom I aim to collaborate internationally in a project to better detect frail oncologic patients before or during their treatment and take timely action.
I want to thank APH Aging and Later Life for giving me this amazing opportunity.