ANA MOLINA, MD
This past Saturday, we hosted our June Kidney Cancer Support Group meeting. This month’s featured speaker was Helen Clark, RN, a clinical nurse educator at the Novartis healthcare group. Every other month I host and facilitate the Weill Cornell Kidney Cancer Support Group to provide a forum to come together, and to learn and talk about a wide-range of topics related to kidney cancer.
At our latest meeting, we discussed several subjects, including two oral medications commonly used in advanced kidney cancer treatment, Votrient (pazopanib) and Afinitor (everolimus). It was a lively conversation about how these medications work, how to cope with and manage common side effects, and how pharmaceutical companies can help with financial issues related to treatment. Additionally, we talked about the process for FDA approval, open clinical trials and other kidney cancer treatments Weill Cornell Medicine has to offer.
The purpose of our support group is to provide a community and outlet for patients and their families and friends, as well as resources and a safe space for sharing and addressing concerns. There is great power in connecting with others who have been there before, and often, it is fellow kidney patients and loved ones who can be the best source of support.
Thank you to everyone who came this month! We always like to see new and familiar faces and hope you’ll join us at our next meeting in September. Stay tuned for an update on the date, topic and featured speaker for this session.
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