1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
Webinar Registration here.
This session is open to doctors and healthcare professionals only.
1 CME point will be awarded.
It is often said that Chinese medicine is incompatible with Western treatment and patients should not receive both at the same time. This advice is especially prominent in Oncology where cytotoxic drugs and radioactive treatments are being delivered.
Yet is it really true that the effects of both treatments are always contradictory? Or is there a role for both modalities to exist in a complimentary manner, or even concurrently with each other? Is there a scientific basis for TCM, or is this field merely a forgotten art with no international credence?
Join us for this webinar as we welcome an Oncology-trained TCM physician to share his perspective on the role of chinese medicine in cancer management. Through his sharing, we will then revisit the age-old question of whether the medicine of the East & West can indeed co-exist peacefully, and effectively for the benefit of our patients.
Our Speakers
Dr. David Tan
Radiation Oncologist
Dr. David Tan Boon Harn is Medical Director and Senior Radiation Oncologist at Asian Alliance Radiation & Oncology (AARO), a private Singapore Radiation and Oncology group focusing on the use of advanced technologies to treat cancer. He has more than 15 years of clinical experience and specializes in the treatment of Gynaecological Cancers (Cervix, Uterus & Ovarian), Lung cancers, Gastrointestinal cancers (Oesophagus, Stomach & Colorectal), and Hepatobiliary cancers (Liver, Pancreas & Gallbladder).
His clinical expertise is in the use of stereotactic radiosurgery and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SRS/SBRT), a highly targeted and ablative radiation treatment to treat primary and metastatic tumours in only 1-5 sessions. He is also fellowship- trained in Brachytherapy for gynaecological cancers. Dr Tan is dual-trained in Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy, and well-versed with all modern radiation technologies including 3D conformal external beam radiotherapy (3D-CRT), Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy (IMRT), Image Guided Radiation Therapy (IGRT), Volumetric Arc Therapy (VMAT), Stereotactic Radiosurgery (SRS), Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy (SBRT), Deep Inspiration Breath Hold Radiotherapy, Gynaecology (cervix and endometrium) image-guided brachytherapy.
Committed to providing comprehensive and personalized cancer treatment, Dr Tan takes time to understand the patient’s condition and personal needs. Armed with his technical expertise, and the latest scientific evidence, Dr Tan is able to offer customized treatment plans based on the individual patients’ condition to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Dr. Tan graduated from the National University of Singapore in 2005 and commenced training in Radiation Oncology at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) in 2007.
In 2011, Dr. Tan received the Health and Manpower Development (HMDP) Award for Advanced Training in Clinical Oncology in the UK. There, at the Mount Vernon Cancer Cancer in Middlesex, he obtained advanced training in general oncology and further subspecialized in the above tumor sites. He also trained under renowned experts in stereotactic radiosurgery and brachytherapy. He obtained his Fellowship in Clinical Oncology from the Royal College of Radiologists in the UK (FRCR) in 2013 and was admitted as a Fellow of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore (FAMS) in Radiation Oncology in 2014.
Prior to joining AARO, Dr. Tan was a Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). During his 10 years of service in the public sector, he was responsible for setting up the Liver and Pancreas SBRT programs, and oversaw their development from protocol development to patient enrolment and subsequently to treatment of increasingly complex cases such as multiple liver metastases and portal vein thrombosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). He is also currently co-investigator in an international IAEA-led trial comparing SBRT with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) in unresectable HCC.
Dr. Tan is the Singapore National Project Coordinator for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Regional Project 6085, which aims to Enhance Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy for Frequent Cancers in the Asia-Pacific Region. After establishing Singapore as one of the regional training hubs in Asia- Pacific, Dr. Tan conducted the first regional training course of the project in NCCS in 2016, which was attended by participants from 17 member states. He is also council member of the Federation of Asian Organizations for Radiation Oncology (FARO), which is a non-profit scientific organization comprising national radiation oncology societies in Asia to improve the level of radiotherapy in the region.
On the local front, Dr. Tan serves as Chair of the Radiation Oncology Sub-section of the Singapore Radiological Society (SRS), and is also a fellow in the Academy of Medicine. He has been part of the organizing committee for RadiologyAsia 2015 and 2017, which are regional radiology meetings held bi-annually in conjunction with the SRS Annual Scientific Meetings.
As chair of the SRS radiation oncology subsection, Dr. Tan organizes annual scientific dinner-symposiums for the local oncology community to update them on the latest advances in radiotherapy in common tumour sites such as liver, pancreas and prostate malignancies, and on latest technologies such as proton therapy. Dr. Tan also held position as Adjunct Assistant Professor at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School where he hosted and supervised medical students for clinical attachments at NCCS, and was clinical lecturer at the Nanyang Polytechnic School of Radiation Therapy where he gave lectures to budding radiation therapists.
Dr. Tan is actively involved in clinical research and has published in major oncology journals on SBRT and brachytherapy, as well as gastrointestinal and gynaecological cancer subject matters. He was invited to be guest editor for a focused issue entitled “Advances in Stereotactic Radiosurgery” in the Chinese Clinical Oncology journal in 2017, where with his co-editors he formulated content and collaborated with international experts to publish the latest updates in stereotactic radiotherapy treatments. He frequently contributes as a reviewer in surgical, oncology and radiotherapy journals. Dr. Tan is a member of the following international oncology societies: American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) and the International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society (ISRS).
Dr. Tan's specialty interests are brachytherapy, gynecological, gastrointestinal and lung cancers, stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and sterotactic radiosurgery (SRS).
Mr. Chu I Ta
TCM Physician
Coming from a lineage of distinguished Chinese medical professionals, I Ta received his Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Medicine from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, China. Since his return to Singapore, he has been a practicing physician and his clinical experience include treating pain management (chronic and acute injuries, degeneration of bones/joints), Cancer supportive care treatment, gastrointestinal diseases, autoimmune diseases (e.g. eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.) and diabetes.
Charged with a strong mission in promoting TCM knowledge, I-Ta encourages “every individual to account for their own health”. He also believes that a holistic approach encompassing east and west methods would offer an optimal blend of medical solutions for patients (综合性医疗,以人为本). I Ta has conducted numerous public and corporate healthcare talks, workshops and webinars together with western medical and other allied health professionals with very positive response. He is an invited guest speaker for renown health and wellness organisations like Brand’s Chicken essence, International Yin Yoga, Singapore College of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Feiyue Learning Centre etc.
Outside his clinical practice, I Ta also serves as a volunteer physician, group leader for pain management, and a member of the oncology team at Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution (SCHMI). He also serves as the Deputy Secretary General, Singapore Chinese Physicians’ Association (SCPA) and Secretary General of Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution.