Welcome to Portland, Oregon!

We are excited to bring you a VTCS workshop that was curated with the input from last year's conference in mind and that broaches a wide variety of applicable subjects. On Thursday morning and afternoon, we will host a hands-on hematology and cytology lab, which is always in high demand, and will be presented by Dr. Davis Seelig and Dr. Daniel Heinrich This workshop is sponsored by IDEXX Laboratories. Also note that this year, technicians will hear from two keynote speakers who will present on topics of value to technicians. Susan Hedlund will speak on compassion fatigue on Friday afternoon, and Dr. Daniel Promislow will speak about how the aging processes promote cancer development in dogs.

Technicians can also look forward to lectures on surgical oncology, electrochemotherapy, pain management in cancer patients, radiation therapy, molecular diagnostics, acupuncture and massage for cancer patients, and new clinical trials in nutrition for cancer patients. We are thrilled to have scheduled a human pediatric oncology clinical pharmacist who will lecture on chemotherapy safety, and because technicians typically have a wide variety of questions when it comes to our careers and its longevity, we've included a round table discussion in which oncologists, technicians and practice managers will discuss our questions and concerns. Check out the full schedule so you don't miss anything!

We are thankful for the generous contributions of several sponsors this year, among them Practivet, Amatheon Pharmaceuticals, Stokes Pharmacy, Best Pet Rx and Veterinary Specialty Center. Without them, as well as other sponsors of the overall conference, many technicians would not be financially able to attend. Please take time to visit with them during morning or afternoon breaks.

As always, we welcome your suggestions for next year's VTCS Workshop. Don't forget to complete your evaluation at the end of the workshop.

Sierra Luke
VTCS Program Chair

Hello technicians and welcome to the VTCS Workshop.

Although I reside in the "original Portland," which is the total opposite side of the country from this Portland, I am excited about this meeting. As you will see from the conference schedule in this proceedings, Sierra Luke and Dr. Kim Freeman have worked very hard to put together a fantastic conference and we're glad that you could be here to take part in it.

This workshop is a wonderful opportunity for oncology technicians to get together and share, network and support one another. There is no other meeting that provides as much oncology CE as the annual VCS Conference does. This meeting delivers cutting edge research, both scientific and clinical, along with State of the Art presentations from oncologists that work on the human side of oncology. You'll get to hear from three of your fellow technicians who will present their Case Reports. Hopefully they will inspire you to do the same next year.

The VTCS business meeting and lunch on Friday afternoon is the perfect forum to make suggestions for future meetings, brain storm ideas for dealing with the day to day issues that oncology technicians face, renew old acquaintances and start new ones. Even if you are not a member, you are welcome to attend and learn what we are all about and maybe see how VCS can help you in your career. Don't forget to complete your evaluations so that we can plan next year's workshop with your ideas in mind.

Please join us on Friday afternoon as we celebrate our Case Report winners at the Awards Ceremony and then dance the night away at the closing event at the Portland Art Museum.

Lastly, we encourage you to take advantage of all that Portland, Oregon has to offer, especially after a great day of building new neural pathways!

Kathi L. Smith, RVT, VTS (Oncology)
VCS Liaison