In late March, AIF’s professional development grant provided me the opportunity to attend RGCON 2025, an annual international conference on gynecological cancers organized by the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Center. Given that my project at my host organization, the Public Health Research Institute of India, centered cervical cancer screening and its prevention via HPV vaccination, I was extremely excited to be able to attend and learn from the speakers and attendees at RGCON.
A recurring message throughout RGCON 2025 was the urgency of preventive measures, particularly HPV vaccination and early cervical screening. Chairman Rakesh Chopra emphasized that cervical cancer causes around 77,000 deaths annually in India, and that most gynecological cancers are preventable with vaccination and early detection. As someone focused on producing educational media for adolescent girls, these statistics resonated deeply with my mission: bridging awareness gaps and motivating preventive behaviors.
Several plenary sessions showcased cutting‑edge innovations in cancer care, including AI‑driven diagnostics, immunotherapy, and advances in surgical oncology like robotics. I attended a live surgical workshop demonstrating nerve‑sparing robotic radical hysterectomies, robotic mesometrial resection, and even the indigenous MANTRA robotic surgery system for hysterectomy—situated as India’s own technological leap in oncological surgery, which was incredible to see. These sessions reinforced the importance of integrating scientific accuracy and innovation into educational outreach.
I was particularly inspired by remarks from Professor G.K. Rath (former Director of NCI, AIIMS) and Dr. Denis Querleu (University of Toulouse). Professor Rath underlined that India’s epidemiology provides an invaluable platform to study and implement HPV‑related cancer prevention strategies, noting that around 60% of cancers in India are preventable. Dr. Querleu highlighted RGCIRC’s growing role in global oncology research. Their global-local perspectives helped me better position my education project within India’s strengths: local insights, large-scale impact, and potential for global visibility.
In terms of my project, the following were a few key takeaways that I planned to apply to my project.
- Emphasizing storytelling rooted in local context: Hearing faculty underscore India’s distinct epidemiology reinforced that my media needs to reflect relatable scenarios—rural and urban adolescent girls, school-based vaccination drives, and family conversations around HPV vaccine.
- Building partnerships with healthcare institutions: At RGCON, I connected informally with medical oncologists and public health researchers. I see strong potential to collaborate with institutions like RGCIRC and other regional cancer centers to pilot dissemination of my media modules in clinics and schools.
- Leveraging peer-to-peer engagement: The emphasis on multidisciplinary and integrative approaches encouraged me to include peer-led storytelling—empowering girls themselves to share vaccination experiences in school assemblies, and to create more accessible, small-scale forms of media via social platforms to be disseminated in regional languages.
RGCON 2025 was not just a platform for scientific exchange—it was a reaffirmation of why I pursued public health. Sitting in sessions on preventive HPV vaccination, groundbreaking surgery, AI-enabled diagnostics, and hearing cancer’s evolving prognosis in India made the stakes tangible. It solidified my belief in education as a catalyst for behavioral change.
I left the conference energized, with fresh ideas and contacts who share a vision of reducing HPV-related mortality through awareness, vaccination, and screening. I’m committed to weaving the latest clinical insights and culturally resonant narratives into my campaigns, so that adolescent girls—and the systems around them—become empowered to act early. RGCON 2025 gave me not only knowledge, but also clarity on how to translate that knowledge into meaningful, measurable impact.
