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Laura Wood, RN, MSN, OCN, is a member of the KCA's Board of Directors and Co-Chair of the KCA's Clinical Advisory Board. She is the renal cancer research coordinator at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center. We spoke with Laura about serving on the Board and her work in medicine. What motivated you to get involved with the Kidney Cancer…

World Kidney Cancer Day is June 18 and this year the theme is physical activity. Regular physical activity plays an important role in preventing and treating many common cancers. Studies show regular exercise may lower the risk of kidney cancer by 22%. Even small amounts of exercise can help reduce cancer-related fatigue, anxiety and depression, and improves quality of life…

Dr. Bradley Leibovich is a member of the KCA's Board of Directors and currently works as the Chair of the Department of Urology at the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center in Rochester, Minnesota. We spoke with Dr. Leibovich about serving on the Board and his work in medicine. Dr. Bradley Leibovich (Left) with Dr. Brian Rini, both members of the KCA's…

Noah Buntman KCA Board of Directors Shelley Buntman loved being outdoors in nature, so this year, the Buntman family planned to gather in Mount Tamalpais State Park in California for an honorary hike to celebrate her and raise money for kidney cancer research. Shelley died in 2012 after being diagnosed with stage IV kidney cancer 14 months earlier. Her son…

Kidney cancer research highlights presented at the 2020 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Cancer patients suffer more from COVID-19 Cancer patients who become ill as a result of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 are more likely to die within a month compared to people without cancer and have more complications like intubation, according to two studies published…

Dr. Christopher Wood is the Chair of the Kidney Cancer Association's Board of Directors, a member of the KCA's Medical Steering Committee, and a surgeon and professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. We spoke with Dr. Wood about serving on the Board and his work in medicine. Dr. Chris Wood with Dr. W. Kimryn Rathmell and…

Nothing in Salima Witt’s history would have suggested kidney cancer. Salima was healthy and active, did not smoke or drink alcohol, was diligent with yearly checkups, blood work, and wellness tests, and she had none of the common symptoms of kidney cancer such as side pain, fatigue, or blood in the urine. But after an otherwise ordinary ER visit in…

A few members of the KCA community have shared what is helping them stay safe, sane, and be joyful through the coronavirus pandemic.  Susan Alanis | KCA's Director of Gift Processing What are you doing to stay safe? I’m wearing a mask when I do have to go out in public. It’s also so important to eat healthy to maintain…

Mike Kelly, 67, was diagnosed with stage IV clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) last fall and had a nephrectomy to remove his left kidney at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, Texas soon after. Kelly also began participating in a clinical trial early in 2020 for which he takes the tyrosine kinase inhibitor Cabometyx® (cabozantinib). Already attentive to…

In the phase III CheckMate-9ER trial, nivolumab (Opdivo) plus cabozantinib (Cabometyx) combined improved overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with sunitinib (Sutent) in patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC) who had not previously received treatment. “The results from the pivotal CheckMate -9ER trial clearly demonstrate the combination of cabozantinib plus nivolumab provides a clinically meaningful benefit in…