In the latest edition of COMP InterACTIONs (the organization's quarterly newsletter), MPWB provided an article outlining some of the challenges in delivering radiation therapy in the developing world. You an access a copy of the article here.

Early last year Board members from MPWB submitted a publication for Medical Physics International (the official publication of the IOMP) outlining the Vision and Mission of our organization. You can access the article on their website or download a copy here. 

Please see our latest Newsletter for updates on MPWB activities

• Annual General Membership meeting in Nashville TN
  
• AGM election details at Nashville
• Renewing your membership!
• Information meeting at COMP-CARO in Montreal
• Updates from the World Congress meeting at Prague

Annual membership meeting MPWB will hold its annual membership meeting on Tuesday 31 July 2018 from 12:15 to 1:45 in room Music Row 6 on Level Two in the Omni Nashville Hotel at the annual meeting of the AAPM in Nashville, TN. This is the hotel that is the AAPM Headquarters and hosts all the AAPM committee meetings. The meeting will be open to all people interested in MPWB and its activities; however, any formal voting will be restricted to members only. 

The Iranian Society of Clinical Oncology, in scientific collaboration with ESTRO is organizing: 

Perspectives of Advanced Radiotherapy in Middle Income Countries

26-28 September 2018 • Tehran • Iran

For more details, please see their website.

ICTP and the University of Trieste offers a two-year advanced training in medical physics, co-sponsored by the IIAEA, IOMP and the European Federation of Organization for Medical Physics (EFOMP) in collaboration with Trieste University Hospitals. See here to apply online (register first) and here for more details on the program. 

Application deadline: 22 April 2018.

"The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all who care about human rights." - Gloria Steinem

Are you ready to #PressforProgress? 

The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements highlight the fact still, in 2018, gender equality remains a global issue. International Women's Day is a day to recognize these challenges, shift away from complacency, and start thinking about solutions. 

MPWB proudly supports the #PressforProgress movement and gender equality. It is up to all of us to find ways to make a difference and #PressforProgress in our communities. #IWD2018 belongs to all of us. On March 8, 2018 we challenge ourselves, our members, and our communities to find a way to #PressforProgress.

it is time to renew your MPWB membership! Please update your profile and renew your membership before March 31, 2018. Visit here start the process! 

For World Cancer Day,  Dr Jake Van Dyk (President of MPWB) will be one of several presenters live-streaming messages.

To go here to access the live-stream or archives of the event. or visit the iaea page for more details:  https://www.iaea.org/events/world-cancer-day-2018

World Cancer Day is an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). 

#WorldCancerDay #WeCanICan

7 November marks the International Day of Medical Physics. The day celebrates the birthday of a pioneer in the field, Marie Curie (1867–1934), recipient of the 1903 Nobel prize in Physics, shared with Pierre Curie and Henri Becquerel, and another in Chemistry in 1910 for discovering Radium and Polonium, and isolating and studying Radium.

Her career stimulated profound changes in diagnostic and therapeutic medicine. During World War 1, she help pioneered the concept of portable x-ray imaging—devices known as “Petite Curies”—throughout Europe. The impact of Radium in the treatment of cancer (via brachytherapy) cannot be overstated. She was a scientific pioneer in the truest sense.

To learn more about her amazing career, take a look at some of these great videos:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6JFRi0Qm_s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obscevgPDMI

In many ways, Marie Curie provides the perfect starting point in defining the core facets of a medical physicist. It all started with intelligence, innovation, critical thinking, and an undeniable passion for excellence.

She was an incredibly generous person, gifting the gold from her Nobel prizes to the government in support of the war effort. For her outstanding contributions in times of crisis, she was a board member of the Red Cross. 

In many ways, Marie Curie's legacy serves as a measure of success for MPWB: 

To support activities which will yield effective and safe use of physics and technologies in medicine through advising, training, demonstrating and/or participating in medical physics-related activities, especially in low-to-middle income countries.

The difference today is that we all know how to use radiation in helping people, but we have significant challenges in getting that help to the people who need it most. 

We have some exciting projects underway in achieving some of these goals, as noted in some of our earlier blog-posts. 

We want to thank all of our supporters for their contribution in making the world a bit safer, and helping improve access to healthcare in our world.