Author: Dena Battle
Aim for a Cure – ASCO2023
What do kidney cancer patients want from their therapy? They want a cure. Let’s Aim for a Cure. The big news for kidney cancer doctors at ASCO 2023 may have involved updates from combination trials including CONTACT-03, KEYNOTE426, and CLEAR. For patients, I would say that the big news was this call to action from Dr. David Braun at Yale Cancer Center. Aim for a Cure! Braun did a masterful job of ...
March Forward for Kidney Cancer
March Forward for Kidney Cancer Awareness
COSMIC 313 Clinical Trial
UPDATE FROM ESMO Data from the COSMIC 313 trial was presented on September 12, 2022, at the ESMO conference in Paris. Below is a recap and discussion of the data that was presented. The thoughts and views that I am sharing about this trial are my own personal opinions. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice. About the Trial COSMIC 313 is a phase 3 clinical trial for kidney cancer pa...
Acknowledging Grief and Finding a New Normal
Society's failure to acknowledge grief caused by cancer makes it harder for people to move forward and find the strength and resilience that they need.
The Unanswered Question
The FDA approval of adjuvant Keytruda is a significant advancement in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma. Immune based adjuvant therapy provides an exciting new option for a patient population in desperate need of improved outcomes. Over the past four years, KCCure has strived to be a voice for patients diagnosed with localized disease. Our surveys uncovered profoundly high levels of fear of ca...
Patient Driven Research – the KCCure Chromophobe Research Grant
“Has anyone done any fundraising or advocacy projects to help raise money or awareness for Chromophobe RCC? Every specialist I talk to mentions the limited research in chromophobe since we are not as common as clear cell.” – Catherine Yutmeyer, chromophobe kidney cancer patient At KCCure, we pride ourselves on being an evidence-based, patient-driven advocacy organization. But when I saw this...
Kidney Cancer Patient Stories – March 2021
In 2009, my husband Chris was diagnosed with kidney cancer. What started as a suspected case of appendicitis turned out to be renal cell carcinoma. We felt blindsided, unable to make rational decisions, forced to aimlessly follow whatever the doctors told us. What changed things for us was when we started sharing our story through our blog and connecting with other patients dealing with the same d...
Am I Cured?
This is a common question that pops up in our kidney cancer communities. And it’s not surprising. Seventy-five percent of kidney cancer patients will be diagnosed with localized disease. The majority of these patients are “cured” by surgery, however between 20 and 40 percent will experience a recurrence of their cancer. Following surgery, many patients struggle with how to describe this situation ...
Biopsy for Kidney Cancer – Communicating Changes in Practice
One question that is routinely posted in our kidney cancer patient communities is: should I have a biopsy of my kidney tumor? The resounding chorus from others is almost always an emphatic: “NO! “it’s too dangerous” “you’ll spread the cancer.” For more than two decades, the use of biopsy in managing renal cell carcinoma has been shifting dramatically. Advances in cytological techniques as well as ...
Remembering Laura Loughlin
The world has lost a remarkable voice for kidney cancer. Laura Loughlin, KCCure’s Director of Patient Engagement, died from her disease on March 27th. After her diagnosis with advanced disease, Laura found comfort in connecting with other patients and wrote about how supporting others gave her a new purpose and meaning. She was one of the first people I reached out to when we began building ...
Fear of Cancer Recurrence
In 2009, at the age of 40, my husband Chris, went to the emergency room for what we thought was appendicitis, only to have a CT scan reveal a massive tumor on his kidney. The next few days were a blur. Chris was just propelled forward like a car on an assembly line – we weren’t so much consulted, just politely informed of what was coming next. Four days later, following a radical nephr...
Barcelona
Six months before he died, my husband Chris watched a documentary about La Sagrada Familia, a basilica in Barcelona, Spain. He became fascinated with the project and told me how much he wanted to see it in person. Begun in 1882, La Sagrada Familia has been under construction for more than a century. When architect Antoni Gaudi first designed the project, he knew it would never be comple...