What does SIOP mean to me?

What does SIOP mean to me? I had many different sensations in relation to SIOP after my first SIOP Congress in 1995 in Montevideo. At SIOP, I made friendships that lasted for my whole professional life. Also, coming from a Middle Income Country, I always found SIOP meetings as a challenge. I felt challenged by the high level of the presentations, making me try harder to become a better doctor. I also felt fear by standing in the podium in the early years. I can still feel the butterflies in my stomach when the moderator (usually a big celebrity) said my name as the next presenter (I still do). SIOP made me knew cities and people I would have never met without being a SIOP member. I felt happy when I got an award or a scholarship and sad when I didn't (I don't know any other Society that supports as many professionals from Lower Middle Income Countries!). I can still feel the anxiety of reading the abstract book looking for the new info of the SIOP studies, especially when I could not attend and a colleague brought it to me in the old days when each venue competed to have the most beautiful bag. Later, I remember listening over and over again to the recorded talks of the big stars wishing to have at least a small percentage of their knowledge. Most of all, I learnt at SIOP. SIOP also helped me to find jobs since (destiny?) now I am working in Montevideo, where my first SIOP Congress was. I encourage you to join the next Congress in Barcelona—early registration deadline is July 7. 

Professionally, SIOP is becoming bigger every day. It is not anymore a small family of pediatric oncologists. It is the home of a world community of many people with different backgrounds and knowledge all with one aim, to cure all children with cancer. After these hard years of the COVID19 pandemic, SIOP was there to support our colleagues. But also without having the chance of interacting in person, these next few years appear challenging but fascinating. Thanks to the efforts of SIOP and St. Jude Global supporting the WHO GICC program, we may be able to see the cure of most children with cancer worldwide. We will witness the beauty of a well-executed global program that will bring justice for all the children with curable malignancies who until now didn't have a chance. As we saw the wonders of science with the fast development of COVID19 vaccines, saving millions of lives, our generation will witness the cure for all, no matter where they live. 

SIOP is there, with its continental branches, its networks, committees and working groups. Please join us in this wonderful journey! 

Dr. Guillermo Luis Chantada graduated from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and completed his postgraduate training in Clinical Pediatrics and Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the Hospital JP Garrahan at Buenos Aires where he served for 31 years. He is the SIOP President-Elect and is an associate member of the Oncology Service of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, Barcelona, Spain. He is Principal Researcher of the National Council of Research in Argentina (CONICET). He is the Scientific Director at the Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Service of the Hospital Universitario Austral, Argentina, and at the Hemato-Oncology service of the Hospital Pereira Rossell in Montevideo, Uruguay. His major contributions are in the area of translational research in retinoblastoma where he worked the identification of innovative treatments, the characteristics of this tumor in developing countries and in depicting its mechanisms of molecular dissemination. He leads the Latin American treatment protocol at the Grupo de America Latina de Oncologia Pediatrica (GALOP) where is member of the Board. He serves as Coordinator of the European Retinoblastoma Group (EURbG). He leads the development of an anti-idiotype vaccine for neuroblastoma in a Latin American protocol. Other areas of interest include pediatric lymphomas and histiocytosis. He is Member of the St Jude Global Pediatric Medicine Department where he is Editor in Chief of Oncopedia at the Cure4kids portal. He is member of the Board at the Latin American Society of Pediatric Oncology (SLAOP).