History

Introduction

In November 1990 WHO designated a Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education (WHO-CCCE) to three faculty members of Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences: prof.dr. Jan Oldhoff, surgical oncologist, appointed as director; dr. E. Milly L. Haagedoorn, cancer education coordinator, and dr. Wim Bender, medical educationist, both as principal investigators. In May 1994 professor Oldhoff retired from Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences and Groningen University Hospital, but he agreed to continue several national and international activities. Among these was the directorship of the WHO-CCCE. However, in 1998 he decided that the time had come to end most of his activities and to enjoy his retirement. With this withdrawal a longstanding cooperation between the triumvirate Oldhoff / Haagedoorn / Bender came to an end.

In July 1998 WHO accorded dr. E. Milly L. Haagedoorn as the successor of professor Oldhoff. In December 1998 WHO accorded dr. Jakob de Vries, surgical oncologist at Groningen University Hospital, as the new co-director of the WHO-CCCE. February 5^th 2002 WHO agreed the director and co-director to change places.

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Jan Oldhoff

Surgical oncologist, key figure in cancer education

For many years Jan Oldhoff was head of the department of surgical oncology, University Hospital Groningen and has been a key figure in the development of undergraduate cancer education. Already in the late nineteen seventies he realised the importance of collaboration with a medical education coordinator for oncology. This was in the time that Groningen University Faculty of Medicine had started to appoint young medical doctors - who were interested in medical education - as "medical education coordinators". These medical education coordinators, full time appointed, were seen as a help to the professors who had to divide their time between patient care, education and biomedical research.

The American Cancer Education Survey

In the early nineteen eighties Oldhoff was impressed by the results of a big American survey: the national "Cancer Education Survey", performed in the years 1976 - 1979 by the American Association for Cancer Education in contract with the US National Health Institutes. ^1-6   One hundred and ten of the then 114 medical schools in the USA were extensively surveyed with reference to undergraduate cancer education. The objective of this survey was to characterize in detail the segment of the educational process which was encompassed in the three or four years of undergraduate education in United States Schools. Factors surveyed dealt among others with:

• the characteristics of the professional institutions
• the design of their curricula (both in general and specifically to cancer education)
• the nature of the faculty members involved in cancer education programs
• the availability of cancer patients for their programs
• the cancer-related experiences and attitudes of students.

Cancer education coordinator

One of the important results of this survey was the important influence of a cancer education coordinator. This survey was the start for several cancer education projects by the team Oldhoff / Haagedoorn / Bender. In 1985 one of the projects resulted in a thesis by Haagedoorn: ‘Aspects of Cancer Education for Professionals’⁷, which was among others based on the US Cancer Education Survey and a comparative survey on a much smaller scale within the eight Faculties of Medicine in the Netherlands. First supervisor to this thesis was professor Oldhoff; second supervisor was the project leader of the US Cancer Education Survey, professor Richard F. Bakemeier, at that time professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester, Rochester N.Y. As a result of all the above mentioned activities, Oldhoff could convince the board of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Groningen University to appoint a full time cancer education coordinator.

Next to his interest in undergraduate cancer education he trained many surgical residents of whom over 20 became surgical oncologist.

Jan Oldhoff has been, right from the start, a stimulating project leader and director. Always personally actively involved in new activities, always ready for advice and for help, and always taking care that credit was given to the people who did the job.

Knight in the Order of the Netherlands Lion.

April 29th, 1992, at the fifth annual meeting of the European Association for Cancer Education in Prague, Jan Oldhoff was awarded by the Dutch Ambassador in Prague on behalf of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands for his lifetime achievement in surgical oncology, surgical research and in cancer education.

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Milly Haagedoorn

From musician to cancer educator

Milly Haagedoorn started her career as a musician, but changed after a few years to medicine and graduated in 1964 as a medical doctor from Amsterdam University Faculty of Medicine. She has been a general practitioner for five years; has been a resident in surgery (among others at the Free University of Amsterdam and in the Netherlands Cancer Institute) and turned to undergraduate medical cancer education in 1978.

Full time cancer educator

Dr. Haagedoorn has been between 1977 and 1987 coordinator of several national Audiovisual Cancer Education Projects financed by the Netherlands Queen Wilhelmina Cancer Foundation. In 1985 she earned a PhD at Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences with a thesis on Aspects of Cancer Education for Professionals.⁷ This resulted two years later in an appointment as fulltime cancer education coordinator at this University from 1987 - 1997.

WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education (WHO-CCCE)

In 1990 Milly Haagedoorn became principal investigator of the WHO-CCCE. In 1998 she followed professor Oldhoff as director of this Centre. In 1998 Milly also became a member of the UICC committee on undergraduate medical cancer education; in April 1999 she organized the session on undergraduate medical cancer education during the Second UICC Cancer Management Meeting in Antwerp, Belgium. She is project leader of an international UICC/WHO-CCCE project – since 2005 named WHO-CCCE/UICC cancer education project, offering assistance to medical schools that want to implement in their curriculum a short multidisciplinary cancer course aimed at cancer care in general practice. ⁸

In summer Milly Haagedoorn initiated a change of places in the leadership of the WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education, which has been effected February 5th, 2002 by means of dr. Jakob de Vries becoming director, and Milly Haagedoorn co-director.

American Association for Cancer Education

From 1979 till 2000 dr. Haagedoorn has been a member of the American Association for Cancer Education (AACE), in which she fulfilled an active role in the International Cancer Education Section between 1986 and 1990. November 1st, 2000, the American Association for Cancer Education awarded Milly Haagedoorn with the Margaret Hay Edwards Achievement Medal for outstanding international contributions to cancer education.

European Association for Cancer Education

In 1987 dr. Haagedoorn was a member of the foundation group of the EACE, served as President in 1988, and as Executive Director from 1989 - 1994. She has been chairman of the scientific programme committees for five EACE annual meetings, and has organized, together with dr. Wim Bender, the 8th annual meeting of the EACE in 1995 in Groningen. The EACE honoured Milly in 1999 with the start of an annual Milly Haagedoorn Lecture.

Journal of Cancer Education

Dr. Haagedoorn has been a member of the Editorial Board Journal of Cancer Education, the official Journal of the AACE and the EACE, from 1990 till 2005.

International Summer School ‘Oncology for Medical Students’

At the request of the Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences - Groningen, Milly Haagedoorn developed and implemented in 1996 the International Summer School ‘Oncology for Medical Students’ (ISOMS), which she chaired for three years. Upon closure of the first ISOMS, July 27^th 1996, Milly was awarded by the Dean Professor H.J. Huisjes, with the Faculty Award "for the development and implementation of the International Summer School 'Oncology for Medical Students' and for other international activities within the WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education."

Awards

• 1983, U.S.A. The audiovisual cancer education programme Tumours of the Parotid Gland, produced by the Dutch National Cancer Education Project, (core group for this programme: Oldhoff, Haagedoorn, Slagter, Bender) received an Award of Merit from the United States Health Sciences Communications Associations (HeSCA). Review: J. Biocommunication, September 1993.
• April 1988, London, U.K., first annual meeting of the European Association for Cancer Education. Bender and Haagedoorn: Award from the Polish Society of Hygieny "for rendering services in the development and promotion of hygiene in Poland and abroad".
• October 18, 1992 , Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences. Project group Oldhoff, Haagedoorn, Bender received the Onderwijsprijs van de Faculteit: (the Education Award of the Groningen Faculty of Medicine) "for the development of the multidisciplinary cancer curriculum".
• 1996, July 26. Haagedoorn awarded with the Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences Award "for the development and implementation of the International Summer School 'Oncology for Medical Students' and other international activities within the WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education."
• 1999 April 19. London, 12th annual meeting of the European Association for Cancer Education (EACE). First annual EACE Milly Haagedoorn Lecture. Invited lecturer: Jakob de Vries.

Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau.

May 1st, 2002 , at the 15th EACE meeting Milly received a high Royal decoration for her lifetime achievement in Cancer Education.

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Wim Bender

Department of Medical Education Research and Development - (BOOG)

Dr. Wim Bender (now retired) was a faculty member of Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences since 1970, and has been for many years head of the Department of Medical Education Research and Development [BOOG].

Netherlands Association for Medical Education

Bender was in 1972 a founder member of the Nederlandse Vereniging voor Medisch Onderwijs (Netherlands Association for Medical Education) in which he served for many years as a board member.

American and European Associations for Cancer Education – AACE & EACE

From 1982 - 1992 Bender was a member of the AACE. In 1987 he was a member of the foundation group of the EACE. He served as Secretary/Treasurer of the EACE from 1987 till 1992, and was President in 1993. For two annual meetings of the EACE Bender served as chairman of the scientific programme committee. He was co-organizer of the 8th annual scientific meeting of the EACE in Groningen.

WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education (WHO-CCCE)

From 1990 till 1998 Bender served as principal investigator of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education, and took care of evaluation strategies for the international WHO-CCCE/UICC project which offers assistance to medical schools that want to implement in their curriculum a short multidisciplinary cancer course aimed at cancer care in general practice.

Team efforts

Dr. Bender has closely cooperated in many cancer education projects with dr. Oldhoff and dr. Haagedoorn and dr. De Vries.

Author/editor

Wim Bender is author/editor of several articles and books on medical education (including cancer education). Wim has been associate editor for Europe (1992-1995) of the Journal of Cancer Education (JCE), the official Journal of the AACE and the EACE.

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Jakob de Vries

Surgical oncologist, medical and cancer education coordinator

Dr. Jakob the Vries is staff member of the department of surgery of Groningen University Hospital, currently named University Medical Centre Groningen - UMCG, with special interests in breast and endocrine cancer. Next to this he is involved in several regional and (inter)national cancer research projects, and in a variety of education activities for students, residents and postgraduates.

Memberships

De Vries is a member the Netherlands Society of Surgery, Netherlands Society of Oncology, Netherlands Society of Surgical Oncology, European Society of Surgical Oncology (ESSO), European Society of Mastology (EUSOMA), European Association of Endoscopic Surgery (EAES), and the European and American Associations for Cancer Education (EACE and AACE).

Medical Curriculum in Groningen

Within Groningen University Faculty of Medical Sciences Jakob de Vries was a member of the working group that introduced problem based learning into the Curriculum. In 2003 a completely new Competency-based Medical Curriculum started in the University Medical Centre Groningen; more information can be found at the G2010 website . The oncology course in this curriculum has been designed by Jakob de Vries

Leadership

• Since Summer 1998 Chairman of the International Summer School 'Oncology for Medical Students'
• December 1998 – February 2002 Co-director of the WHO-Collaborating Centre for Cancer Education (WHO-CCCE)
• Since February 5th 2002 Director of the WHO-CCCE
• Since April 2006 President of European Association for Cancer Education.
• Since winter 2007 Chairman Stichting Oncologie Onderwijs Groningen - SOOG. (Cancer Education Foundation Groningen)
• Since March 2008 Chairman Advisory Committee Cancer Education, University Medical Centre Groningen
• Since March 2008 member of the Education Committee of the European CanCer Organization - ECCO.

E-mail address Summer School: chairman isoms.nl