IPOS Fear of Cancer Recurrence Special Interest Group (FORwards)

This special interest group brings together and represents the interests of IPOS members with a special interest in Fear of Cancer Recurrence.

Below is a list of the volunteers sitting on the committee:

Chair: Cristiane Decat Bergerot – Brazil

Cristiane Bergerot, Ph.D., is the head of Supportive Care at Grupo Oncoclínicas, Brazil. Currently, she is the Director of IPOS (2021-2025). She completed a 3 year research fellowship in the Department of Medical Oncology at the City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center in Duarte, California, USA. She has been working with cancer patients for almost 20 years as a clinician and as a researcher. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications in journals including first-author publications in Nature MedicineEuropean Urology, CancerJournal of Immunotherapy for CancerBritish Journal of Urology International and Psychooncology. She has received four merit awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conquer Cancer Foundation and was selected for the prestigious SWOG Young Investigator Course. She is past recipient of the Barry Hoeven Memorial Kidney Cancer Research Grant from Kure It in 2020, the Global Oncology Young Investigator Award (GOYIA) from the Conquer Cancer Foundation in 2021, and the Psychosocial Focus Award from the Kidney Cancer Association in 2021. Currently, she is serving as the quality-of-life Chair of an ongoing clinical trial.

Christine Maheu (Deputy Chair 2023-2025) – Canada

Dr. Christine Maheu, associate professor at the Ingram School of Nursing at McGill University and senior cancer program researcher at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, oversees an extensive program of research initiatives in cancer survivorship. A leader in fear of cancer recurrence, return to work after cancer, transition post-cancer follow-up from tertiary to primary healthcare, and coping mechanisms, among other crucial aspects of post-cancer issues.

In 2016, Dr. Maheu and Maureen Parkinson, a vocational rehabilitation counsellor at BC Cancer, joined forces as co-directors to create the Cancer and Work website, a bilingual platform in French and English. This reliable resource garners more than one thousand visits per week and is acknowledged internationally for its expertise in employment matters following cancer. The website functions as the platform for the pioneering "iCanWork Intervention," a pilot program that assists employers, healthcare providers, and cancer patients in surmounting obstacles associated with return to work after cancer and sustaining employment.

Dr. Maheu has received awards for excellence in the field of nursing research. Co-creator of FORT with University of Ottawa colleague Dr. Sophie Lebel, they have empirically tested a group psychotherapy approach for the management of fear of cancer recurrence. Leading national surveys, Dr. Maheu assessed transition care needs for cancer patients from the end of treatment to three years post-diagnosis, and self-employed experience with the effects of cancer on work are among the significant contributions of Dr. Maheu's career.

Secretary: Carmen Lizette Galves-Hernande – Mexico

Dr Lizette Gálvez-H is a doctor in Health Psychology and clinical psycho-oncologist researcher at the National Cancer Institute (INCan) in Mexico City, where she coordinates biopsychosocial and clinical research projects addressed to breast cancer patients. She works for the National University Autonomous of Mexico with undergraduate and postgraduate students. She has published articles related to unmet needs in Mexican breast cancer patients and fear of cancer recurrence. Currently, her research line focuses on the implementation of the Fear of Cancer Recurrence Therapy (FORT) in a culturally adapted form


Early-career: Adrian Pogacian – Romania 

Adrian Pogacian, licensed clinical psychologist, with executive education in Psycho-oncology, holding a degree in Global Health Diplomacy from Geneva Graduate Institute and Co-author of the first Romanian Multimodal Care Guideline in Pediatric Oncohematology. Founder of INCKA Psycho-oncology Center, associate lecturer with focus on Impact of Cancer Diagnosis on Couples and Families, Communication in Cancer Care and managing Fear of Recurrence. His expertise is on Coping with Cancer and Posttraumatic Growth.

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