Zacharoula Sidiropoulou, Senior Consultant Breast Surgical Oncologist at Hospital São Francisco Xavier, shared on LinkedIn:
“Last day at SIOG, Valencia 2026.
And I think of the people who are not here in person. They’re not in the conference halls or at the poster sessions.
They’re at home. Or in a hospital waiting room, holding test results, trying to understand what comes next.
They’re 78, 84, or 91. They’ve raised families, worked, loved, lost people, cared for others, and built entire lives.
And now they have cancer.
They ask questions that don’t always fit into our guidelines.
- ‘Will I still be able to look after my husband?’
- ‘Will I be able to live independently?’
- ‘Is it worth it, doctor?’
- ‘I don’t want to be a burden.’
The longer I practise medicine, the more I realise that knowing how to treat a disease is not the same as knowing how best to care for the person living with it.
A successful operation is not necessarily a successful outcome if we haven’t understood what matters to the person undergoing it.
That is the heart of geriatric oncology.
It is not simply oncology for older people. Chronological age tells us very few about strength, vulnerability, priorities, or hopes.
Look and see beyond the tumour. At the person who walks slowly but lives independently. The medications on the kitchen table. The daughter who lives two hours away. The fear of losing autonomy.
And ask: ‘What are we trying to preserve?‘
This is why we come together at SIOG.
Oncologists, geriatricians, surgeons, nurses, pharmacists, researchers, and younger colleagues, from different countries and health systems
We share science and uncertainty. Difficult decisions. Things that worked. Things that didn’t.
Some of the most meaningful conversations happen over coffee or in a corridor. Someone admits they don’t have all the answers, and another says, ‘We’ve faced that too.’
And it’s hopeful to know that an idea shared here may change a consultation thousands of kilometres away
This year’s theme is: A Global Call to Action: From Vision to Impact in Geriatric Oncology,
That impact begins when we leave Valencia.
With the next patient sitting before us. With the decision to assess before assuming. To listen before recommending. To understand that living longer matters, but so does living well, and only our patient can tell us what it means.
We came to Valencia because older people with cancer deserve care shaped around their lives, not simply their age or diagnosis.
We leave knowing more, questioning more, and sharing a responsibility to do better.
The most important people at SIOG are precisely those who are not in the room.
They are the reason we meet, learn from each other, and must turn knowledge to something that matters.
Thank you to everyone who made these three days a place of science, generosity, friendship, and humanity.”
You can also read: SIOG 2026: 15 Posts Not to Miss from the Annual Conference in Valencia
