Maria Hafez, Assistant Professor at St. Luke’s University Health Network, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Proud and grateful to have represented St. Luke’s University Health Network Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) at ASCO2026!
This week I presented our poster, “Delivering Oncology Care in Syria: Implementation Lessons from Conflict-Affected and Resource-Limited Settings” and I’m still moved by how much traffic and conversation it drew.
A word on global oncology. Cancer doesn’t pause for conflict. Yet oncology is too often left out of humanitarian response packages, even as the cancer burden rises in displaced and resource-limited populations. Our work shows that a phased “minimum oncology service package” decentralized delivery, tele-enabled expertise, and staged diagnostic and workforce strengthening, can be built and scaled even in protracted conflict settings.
In the SAMS model, structured fellowship teaching, e-consultations, and a virtual breast tumor board supported timely decisions, while missions and workshops reinforced local capacity. Global oncology isn’t charity from the outside in, it’s investing in local clinicians, sustainable systems, and continuity of care so that geography and circumstance don’t decide who survives cancer. That’s the future I want to keep building toward.
None of this would exist without my incredible co-authors and and Collaborators team from Syria and US.
Thank you for the dedication and the many hours behind this work.
To everyone who stopped by, asked hard questions, and shared ideas, thank you. A few people I have to name:
- Abdul Rahman Jazieh, Senior Oncology Consultant and Director of Innovation, Research & International Programs at Cincinnati Cancer Advisors, thank you for the mentorship, sponsorship, and unwavering support from day one.
- Arturo LoAIza-Bonilla, our supportive and genuinely cool Division Chief. Thank you for the leadership and encouragement.
- Connor Yost a new friend from ASCO. Thank you for helping me hang the poster, and for the great chat on AI and LLMs in oncology. (Still negotiating whether I can call you “AI savvy” instead of “AI expert” )
Thank you for the meaningful conversations and the work you do.
This is why we do it.”
Other articles featuring Maria Hafez on Oncodaily.
