Steve Williamson from the Northumbria Healthcare Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, and Chair of the 20 years anniversary British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) annual meeting in Glasgow, discusses his highlights from Day 1 of the meeting. Themes explored include oncology pharmacist career paths, sessions on the importance of the patient perspective, experience with biosimilars, the latest challenges in cancer research and the potential of big data in oncology. As well as summarising the key sessions, Steve Williamson describes his highlights from the breakout sessions that focussed on haematology, policy and access, and paediatrics.