Changing Landscape of Cancer Is Conference Theme; Social Media Star. “Lady Glaucomflecken” to Keynote
Patient advocate Kristin Flanary, aka "Lady Glaucomflecken," will deliver the keynote speech, titled "Wife and Death," at the conference. Flanary is married to social media phenomenon and medical satirist Will Flanary, aka "Dr. Glaucomflecken." (Photo courtesy Kristin Flanary.)
Vermont Business Magazine The UVM Cancer Center will hold its 26th annual Women’s Health and Cancer Conference on Sept. 29 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dudley H. Davis Center on the UVM campus.
The conference is free and open to the public, though registration is closed. It will also be livestreamed. Those wishing to participate in the conference online should visit the conference website and scroll to the presentation they want to observe. A URL will made available for each presentation, including the keynote speech, at 8 a.m. on the morning of September 29.
The conference theme, the Changing Landscape of Cancer, reflects the many new insights into the disease, in research, treatment and patient care, that have arisen in recent years. Cancer strikes close to 2 million Americans each year.
“Our understanding of the patient experience, clinical treatments, and the realities of a cancer diagnosis is growing by leaps and bounds,” said UVM Cancer Center member and conference executive director, Kim Dittus, MD, PhD. “This year’s conference will explore many of the new paths we are taking — in nutrition, sexual health, strategies for living with and beyond cancer, trauma-informed care, and new treatments,” she said.
Highlights of the conference
The conference will offer nine presentations and panel discussions, with three concurrent sessions of two presentations each that attendees can choose between. Highlights include the following. (The full listing of presentations is listed at the conference website.)
Nutrition and Immune Function
This talk will describe the complexity of our immune systems, provide an overview of what is currently known about the link between immunity and lifestyle factors, and identify controllable immune supporters and distractors. Presenter: Jennifer May, RD, CD Clinical Nutritionist, UVM Health Medical Center
Hereditary Cancer Syndromes: Present and Future Care
This talk will discuss the importance of identifying inherited genetic variants (mutations) and why longitudinal clinical follow-up is important for patients with hereditary cancer syndromes. Presenter: Kara K. Landry, MD, Co-Director, Cancer Genetics and Prevention Program, UVM Cancer Center (UVMCC).
Sexuality is a Human Right, Even After Cancer
Cancer and its treatments can negatively impact sexuality and sexual relationships. Unfortunately, it is a topic that almost two-thirds of those treated for cancer do not discuss, because, in general, clinicians do not bring it up. However, cancer should not silence your sexuality and in this talk, the presenters review the scope of the problem and how it can be approached and treated. Presenter: Don S. Dizon, MD, FACP, FASCO, Professor of Medicine and Surgery, Brown University
Emerging Therapies Panel: CAR-T, TILS, mRNA
This talk will discuss advances, and potential challenges to these emerging therapy approaches, as found in early clinical trials of these tools. CAR-T cell therapy is an innovative way of treating cancer that uses a patient’s own blood cells to target and destroy cancer cells. It is currently FDA approved for the treatment of a variety of blood cancers and has revolutionized the field of oncology. mRNA- based cancer vaccines, therapeutic deliverables, and mRNA-based reprogrammed anti-cancer immune cells have all emerged as potentially useful tools in a variety of clinical settings. Most cancers, including breast cancer and ovarian cancer, have immune cells within them, called tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL). By studying TIL, we can identify immune cells that can recognize a patient’s tumor. We are experimenting with treatment strategies that deliver these cells back to patients with metastatic cancer, with some success. Presenters: Hibba tul Rehman, MD, (moderator) Medical Oncologist, UVMCC; James Gerson, MD Medical Oncologist, UVMCC; Stephanie Goff, MD, FACS Senior Research physician, National Cancer Institute, Surgery Branch, NIH; Dev Majumdar, PhD Surgical Research and Biomedical Engineering, UVM.
Keynote Speaker: “Lady Glaucomflecken”
Kristin Flanary, MA (aka “Lady Glaucomflecken”), has survived being married to social media sensation “Dr. Glaucomflecken” through medical training, two cancer occurrences, and a sudden cardiac arrest (including giving him 10 minutes of CPR). In this keynote, titled “Wife and Death,” Flanary will deliver an immersive and poignant example of the bystander, co-survivor, and caregiver experiences and explore how to make healthcare a little more human for patients and their families.
Over 600 registrants from 30 states and four countries, 25 exhibitors
Over the years, the Women’s Health and Cancer Conference has attracted a large and loyal audience. This year over 600 peopled have registered, in-person and online, from 30 states and three countries in addition to the U.S.: Nigeria, Guam, and Canada. Half of the attendees are health care providers and half are patients, caregivers and community members. The conference has also attracted over 25 non-profit exhibitors, including the American Cancer Society, Dragonheart Vermont, and Pride Center of Vermont.
Art show, therapy dogs, reiki and acupuncture
In addition to the presentations, the conference also features a number of creative collaborations for the benefit of attendees.
A traveling art exhibit created by Vermont-based artist Mark Hitchcox called The Sixty Four Project will display a selection of photos of sixty-four female models taken in Canada and the United States. The models who participated reflect a diverse range of ages, ethnicities and body types and includes breast cancer survivors. Each model was given the opportunity to share something about themselves and their stories, along with their portraits, were incorporated into the exhibit.
Canines from Therapy Dogs of Vermont will also visit the conference. A range of integrative therapies, from reiki to acupuncture, will also be available for attendees to try out.
The Patti O’Brien, MD Women’s Health and Cancer Fund is the presenting sponsor of the the UVM Cancer Center’s Women’s Health and Cancer Conference. The Eleanor B. Daniels Fund at the UVM Cancer Center the keynote luncheon sponsor. And Vox Media Group is the conference’s supporting sponsor.
About the UVM Cancer Center: The University of Vermont Cancer Center is Vermont’s only not-for-profit comprehensive clinical and research cancer center. Founded in 1974, the organization is located within the University of Vermont Larner College of Medicine and enjoys a clinical partnership with the University of Vermont Medical Center.
Drawing on the expertise of more than 165 research and clinical members, the center works to reduce the burden of cancer in Vermont, northeastern New York and across northern New England, through research, outstanding clinical care, community outreach and education.
