Spotlight: Kiran Kehoe of the KCA’s Clinical Advisory Board

Feb . 03 . 2021

Hunter Neubarth

Kiran Kehoe, RN, BSN, CCRN is a member of the KCA’s Clinical Advisory Board and sees patients at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York. We spoke about her work supporting kidney cancer patients.

Kiran Kehoe (right) with Dr. Ritesh Kotecha and Dr. Chung-Han Lee met with a New York state representative during the KCA’s Advocacy Days in Washington DC in October 2019.

How long have you been working with the KCA and what motivated you to get involved?

I joined the KCA summer of last year. I had participated in Kidney Cancer advocacy at Capitol Hill in 2019 and had met a few members of the KCA, including Gretchen [E. Vaughan, KCA President and CEO] and Radha [Chitale, KCA’s Director of Communications]. The physician I work with, Dr. Chung-Han Lee, got me in contact with Laura Wood [who chairs the Clinical Advisory Board] and I applied for the position. I wanted to be a part of the KCA because the Clinical Advisory Board is so beneficial to our patients who go online to get information about their disease. It’s a great resource, and I think more patients need to be aware of it.

What inspired you to go into the medical field?

I have always known that I like to help people. I love science, biology, and chemistry. It was a perfect match, and nursing is great because you have science- and evidence-based practice along with providing compassionate care.

What is meaningful about being a nurse?

My patient’s strength inspires me. They go through so much – an emotional rollercoaster – from diagnosis, treatment changes, scan reviews. And they continue to be resilient. My patients have taught me to appreciate the little things in life. It’s truly humbling.

Cliffs of Moher

What is your favorite travel destination?

I love to travel. I am turning 40 this year, and I hope to celebrate my birthday somewhere in Europe. Fingers crossed. My favorite place so far is Ireland – the people, the food and the beautiful scenery. We went to a sheep farm, saw the Cliffs of Moher. Driving on the opposite side of the narrow roads on the Ring of Kerry was an interesting experience, to say the least. The places I want to travel to next would be Germany, and I would also love to see the Amazon Rainforest.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I enjoy working out – running especially. Anything to keep me active because I love food too much. I also enjoy astronomy and learning about the various planets, galaxies. Imagine taking a trip to the moon!