Hundreds of patients and families gain in-depth gastric cancer insights from top oncology and health care experts.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — A panel of oncologists and health care experts from leading institutions across the U.S. joined Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) which hosted its 5th Annual Stomach Cancer Education Symposium. The Symposium, supported by Boston Biomedical, convened at 9:00 AM EDT on April 18, 2015. Patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals heard the latest on novel gastric cancer treatment options, side effect management, integrative medicine, clinical trials, genomics, and nutritional considerations. Over 175 patients, families, caregivers, and health care professionals registered for the symposium. Participants had the option to attend the lectures in person or via an interactive live webcast which could be viewed worldwide. The lectures will also be archived on the Debbie's Dream Foundation website at www.DebbiesDream.org.
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The panel of speakers included a broad range of distinguished medical professionals including:
- Adam Bass, MD – Harvard Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Brian Badgwell, MD – MD Anderson Cancer Center
- David Ilson, MD – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Richard Kim, MD – Moffitt Cancer Center
- Lawrence R. Kleinberg, MD – Sidney Kimmel Cancer Institute at Johns Hopkins University
- Edith Mitchell, MD, FACP – Jefferson University Hospital
- Kathleen Mary Wesa, MD – Jackson & Coker, LLC
"Crucial information was relayed to patients, their families, and caregivers," said Symposium Co-Chair Libia Scheller, PhD, MBA. "For example, Dr. Bass shared details regarding the progress of genomic profiling and how this technology will increasingly guide gastric cancer therapy treatment by specifically identifying which activated proteins drive an individual's tumor. These discoveries will help in the selection of more specific and optimal targeted drugs to use for cancer treatment."
"In battling gastric cancer I believe that it is important that patients, families and caregivers have face to face interactions with and guidance from these stomach cancer experts," said Debbie Zelman, President & Founder of DDF. "In addition, there are funding constraints that limit cancer research, but DDF continues to advocate for a stronger infrastructure so that the medical community can advance the diagnosis and treatment of stomach cancer."
ABOUT DEBBIE'S DREAM FOUNDATION: CURING STOMACH CANCER (DDF)
DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with Stage IV incurable stomach cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Zelman immediately began to educate herself about this disease and to seek the best available care. When she responded favorably to her treatment, Debbie founded DDF which now has 27 chapters throughout the United States, Canada, and Germany and a Medical Advisory Board of 28 renowned doctors from across the country. Now, seven years later, Debbie is still receiving chemotherapy and is thrilled to be able to watch her three children grow up.
Debbie's Dream Foundation is committed to raising awareness about stomach cancer, providing funding for research, and helping provide education and support to patients, families, and caregivers around the world. The disease is estimated to be the fourth most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of death. 80% of stomach cancer patients are diagnosed at Stage IV, and those who are diagnosed with Stage IV have a four percent chance of being alive in five years.
Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) was founded by Debbie Zelman in 2009 after she was diagnosed with Stage IV stomach cancer in 2008. The organization is the leading 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to internationally raising awareness about stomach cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support to patients, families, and caregivers. Debbie's Dream Foundation seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.
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