Abhishek Shankar, Assistant Professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS New Delhi, shared on LinkedIn:
“It was an honour to participate as invited faculty at the World Cancer Congress 2026, organised by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), held in Hong Kong from 24–26 September 2026.
I delivered a lecture titled ‘Health System Preparedness for Tobacco Treatment in Cancer Care: Insights from Low- and Middle-Income Countries’ as part of the session ‘Smoking Cessation Across the Cancer Care Continuum: Does Timing, Cancer Type, Stage, and Context Matter?’ on Friday, 25 September 2026.
I also presented our work on ‘FinCan: Cost of Standard-of-Care Cancer Treatment and Financing Gaps under AB PM-JAY in India.’
My visit to Hong Kong also provided a valuable opportunity to engage with cancer advocacy organisations and the broader cancer community. These interactions reinforced the essential role of patient advocates, survivors, caregivers and civil society in shaping cancer policy, improving public awareness, supporting people affected by cancer and ensuring that patient perspectives inform health-system decisions.
I am grateful to Mahdi Sheikh, Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the Congress organisers for the opportunity to speak, dialogue, learning and collaboration. I had great time in Hongkong and Macau with Sanjeev Sharma, Aman Sharma, Ashutosh Mishra, Varun Goyal, Catharine Grimes, Mason Chiang, Judy YT Li and many more.”
You can also read: Highlights from World Cancer Congress 2026 – Part 2
