Education

Each ITONF Subcommittee has its own Terms of Reference & Workplan

Education Sub-Committee: To provide information, education and resources about thoracic oncology to its membership.

Education Lead: Diane Zawisza

Diane Zawisza (CAN) is a Clinical Research Nurse Coordinator at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto Canada. She has been an oncology nurse for over 30 years. Her career started within the Leukemia Lymphoma ABMT transplant unit and then transitioned to Outpatient Systemic therapy delivery. Her current role for the past 20 + years is within Clinical Research under the direction of Dr. Natasha Leighl and is the Practice Site Lead for Lung. Areas of interest include all aspects of Clinical Research from Phase 1 Early Drug Discovery to Phase 3 Clinical Trials; supporting patients and families through there trajectory of treatment and management. She has mentored nurses locally and from abroad presenting internationally. She is passionate about Clinical Research and excited at the new treatments Clinical Research offers. 

Working Group Members: Melanie Rabbets, Leah Taylor, Diane Zawisza, Abdallah Khreis

Melanie Rabbets (AUS) is a Thoracic Oncology Clinical Nurse Consultant at The Crown Princess Mary Cancer Centre at Westmead Hospital in Sydney, Australia. Melanie completed a Masters Degree as Nurse Practitioner in 2020. Melanie has worked in oncology for 18 years, first as a chemotherapy nurse and currently as a nurse consultant. Melanie is interested in all areas of supportive care, with a focus on patient and carer education. Melanie believes that although she cannot alter a patient’s outcome, she can help smooth the path. She aims to learn something new every day and has continued learning and professional development throughout her career. Melanie  is a member of Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Nurses Forum (ANZ-LCNF), Thoracic Oncology Group Australia (TOGA), American Society Clinical Oncology (ASCO), International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (MASCC). She has participated in national and international webinars and conferences to share knowledge with and build capacity in lung cancer nurses.

Leah Taylor (UK) has worked in oncology for over 25 years with an initial focus on symptom management and end of life care working in a busy hospice before specialising in lung cancer and mesothelioma as a clinical nurse specialist.  Throughout her career Leah has always been fascinated by mesothelioma and had a desire to improve the care and treatment provided to people affected by the disease.  Leah works at Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust as a Mesothelioma UK Clinical Nurse Specialist and is Team Leader for a team of Mesothelioma UK clinical nurse specialists across the north of England.    Leah has an interest in genomic medicine and has undertaken postgraduate study in the field of genomics and cancer.  Leah is research active and her current study is exploring nutrition and activity in patients with mesothelioma with a focus on the experience and perceptions of patients, carers and healthcare professionals.

Abdallah Khreis – Bio to follow