“Every year, about two to three hundred pregnant women in the Netherlands are diagnosed with cancer. This is obviously a very scary moment. Researchers in Netherlands and Belgium have studied the topic since 2005, but that knowledge was not yet widely known. We would like to organize healthcare better for this group. Part of my research dealt with the question of how to do this. An advisory board on cancer in pregnancy already existed in the Netherlands. I set up an international advisory group, with up to fifty experts, and a platform for these groups to collaborate. Doctors can present a case to these groups there. For example, can you safely treat a pregnant woman for melanoma with immunotherapy? Is it wise to start treatment as soon as possible or is it better to have the child born prematurely? The best part of doing research is that from these advisory questions I could immediately identify the knowledge gaps. In another part of my research, I tried to close these knowledge gaps as best I could. I found that very valuable. My thesis defense is not in the Netherlands, but in Leuven, Belgium. Hopefully we can have a nice party there afterwards.”
Joosje Heimovaara is currently training as an internist at Alrijne Hospital in Leiden. She will defend her thesis on January 10. Good luck, Joosje!
Research at the Netherlands Cancer Institute is financially supported by KWF Dutch Cancer Society.
prof. dr. F. Amant & prof. dr. L. van Zuylen
K. van Calsteren & dr. C. Lok