Inaugural Kidney Cancer Day to raise awareness

The Section of Hematology and Medical Oncology in the John W. Deming Department of Medicine at Tulane and Urology Department will host its Inaugural Kidney Cancer Day on Thursday, Dec. 12, from 7:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Tidewater Diboll Auditorium and Gallery at 1440 Canal St.

The all-day event, sponsored by EMD Serono, is free and open to the public and is designed to raise awareness of this disease that is among the ten most common cancers, affecting one in 48 men and one in 83 women in the U.S., according to the American Cancer Society.

The symposium will kick off with a Patient Journey Session and Panel Discussion, focusing specifically on the impact of diagnosis and treatment on the patient, caregiver and family experience.

"This is the first time an event of this kind has placed the focus on the patient and care-giving family member," said Pedro Barata, MD, assistant professor of medicine. "And it's the first symposium of its kind to be held in Louisiana. We are very excited to bring this innovative event to the New Orleans community."

Kimberly Allman, CNP, a genitourinary nurse practitioner from the Cleveland Clinic – Taussig Cancer Institute, will contribute to the panel discussion, and afterwards, she will present a lecture on the Management of Immune-Related Adverse Events in Clinical Practice.

The program will continue with a series of kidney cancer management lectures by Tulane faculty, including Dr. Barata, Dr. Audrey Dang of Radiation Oncology, Dr. Shams Halat from Pathology, and Drs. Jonathan Silberstein and Spencer Krane from Urology.

Lunch will transition over to The Jung Hotel - 1500 Canal St., NOLA, 70112 - where Dena Battle, co-founder and president of The Kidney Cancer Research Alliance, will deliver her keynote address entitled The Role of Patient Advocacy Groups in Oncology.

Patients and their family members, Tulane providers, staff, students and members of the community interested in learning more about kidney cancer are encouraged to attend, and registration is recommended. Breakfast, lunch and refreshments will be provided.

For more information on Kidney Cancer Day, including a registration link, a list of speakers and topics and a schedule of events, please visit https://medicine.tulane.edu/kidney-cancer-day or contact Susana Torres at storres5@tulane.edu or 504-988-1236.