Professor David Khayat, second left, at the conference held on the 26th November at the Hermitage Hotel with, from left to right, Thierry de Montbrial, Mme Proust and Enrico Braggiotti, President of the Monaco Mediterranee Foundation

Professor David Khayat, the chief of Oncology at la Pitié-Salpétrière hospital in Paris, set up A.V.E.C in 1997 to unite nations in the fight against cancer. Since 2000 he has been persuading world leaders to sign the Charte de Paris, which commits them to working towards the same goals. So far 15 nations have signed, including France and, as of last December, Monaco.

On Friday a gala will take place at the Meridien Beach Plaza Hotel to raise both awareness and money. Attending will be Madame Proust, wife of Monaco’s Minister of State, who is an active supporter of A.V.E.C.

The prize purchase at this year’s fundraising auction will be a painting inspired by Michael Jackson entitled Moonwalk by the artist Nanou Herman, who has famously displayed her work in Harrods in London and who now lives in the Cote d’Azur.

At 5pm, just prior to the gala, in the hotel's Salon Atlantique, Prof. Khayat will be chairing a discussion on the most recent developments in cancer research and treatment. Joining him on the panel will be Dr Michel Héry from Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco and Prof. Moïse Namer from the Centre Antoine Lacassagne and they will be hoping to take many questions and comments from the floor. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

Lord Michael Anders Cavendish, who works tirelessly behind the scenes to organise these events for A.V.E.C., explains that this conference offers people an opportunity to ask any question they have about cancer, ones they may be scared to bring up in other circumstances. “A lot of people don't have access to information and don't know about new treatments," he explains. “Things have already improved dramatically in just the past ten years. Cancer doesn’t have to be a death sentence.”

This is the second time in two weeks that the Principality has been fortunate enough to be paid a visit by the top cancer specialist: Prof. Khayat was also speaking at a conference organised by the Monaco Mediterranee Foundation and its President Enrico Braggiotti on the 26th of November at the Hotel Hermitage.

In France there are 320,000 new cases of cancer diagnosed each year, of which 150,000 will prove to be deadly. "Every man, every woman has cancer," said Khayat at the event, pointing out that we can all be effected by this very democratic disease. He went on to say that the answer to combating cancer will not be a miraculous cure but rather a combination of all our medical knowledge and experience.

For information about A.V.E.C. First Candle for Life email: christine.loit@psl.aphp.fr or call: + 33 (0)6 60 68 50 26

HM