KidneyCAN is excited to share important news for the kidney cancer community, whether you are a patient, caregiver, clinician, or researcher. Read on for all the updates in this newsletter:

• "Stories of Survivorship" Town Hall -- watch the recap (and find resources shared by our patient panelists).
• Community Spotlight: Kidney Cancer and the Military -- we're supporting our veterans and sharing their stories.
• Spring Advocacy Days -- we went to Capitol Hill to speak up for you!
• KCRS23: The Kidney Cancer Research Summit is fast approaching. Register now to grab your free seat!
• World Kidney Cancer Day is coming up in June!
• Research news and updates

Thank you for being part of our community!

Our latest Town Hall was a little different from our usual webinars. For this one, we reached out to folks with the most expertise -- the patients living every day with kidney cancer. Each of our patient panelists shared their experiences with diagnosis, treatment, and living with kidney cancer in an emotional and inspiring conversation moderated by Dr. Evan Hall, an oncologist with Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Our panelists and guests shared resource links for patients.

If you missed the live event, you can watch the video and see all the resources shared on our website:

"I'm not going to be pre-cancer Laura ever again. I happen to quite like post-cancer Laura, actually, so that's a good thing."

- Patient Panelist Laura Esfeller

During his time at Camp Lejeune’s Courthouse Bay from February 1975 to November 1975 and again from January 1977 to October 1977, Nathaniel was exposed to contaminated drinking water. The water at Camp Lejeune was contaminated by numerous pollutants between 1953 and 1988.

At KidneyCAN, we are committed to advocating for increased funding for kidney cancer research through programs like the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP).

But why is kidney cancer connected to the military? Military personnel are at risk of developing kidney cancer due to service-related exposures to toxins, such as TCE and PFAS in contaminated drinking water, as well as airborne toxins from burn pits.

KidneyCAN reached out to veterans with kidney cancer so that we can amplify their stories and share the significance of the PACT Act for veterans with kidney cancer. Read on to learn more about the impact of kidney cancer on the military community and how we support veterans through our Patient Resource Center.

"The PACT Act signifies the recognition, validation, and support for military servicemen who have suffered chemical injury related to their service. It also ensures that others won’t have to endure the same arduous fight for recognition and medical aid that Michael faced."

- Diana, Michael's wife and caregiver

From the Heart to the Hill:

Spring Kidney Cancer Advocacy Days

KidneyCAN is thrilled to announce the success of our Spring Advocacy Days event, which took place on March 13th in person in Washington, D.C., and on March 14th virtually. We are grateful for the 186 confirmed meetings with representatives from 42 states, including 75 Senate meetings and 111 House meetings.

Of these meetings, 47 were held in person, while 139 were held virtually. We are proud that 138 attendees advocated on behalf of our community, including 60 patients, 45 caregivers/family/friends, and 33 medical professionals.

Additionally, we were especially excited to have 20 Kidney Cancer Research Program awardees in attendance to tell Congress how this funding is impacting their work and the lives of their patients.

Read on to learn more about our advocacy efforts and how you can make a meaningful difference as part of our team!

Let's #AccelerateCures:

Register for the Kidney Cancer Research Summit

The 2023 Kidney Cancer Research Summit (KCRS23) is fast approaching, but you can still grab your virtual seat!

Online attendance is free for patients, caregivers, clinicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals. We have an exciting hybrid program coming together, featuring leading kidney cancer researchers from around the globe. We welcome your virtual participation!

An exciting update, too! We have just added a Biomarkers in Kidney Cancer Symposium to the program to hear from key opinion leaders on this critically important topic.

Register now:

We Need to Talk about Living with Kidney Cancer:

2023 World Kidney Cancer Day

One challenge kidney cancer patients face is maintaining quality of life. World Kidney Cancer Day 2023 shares experiences and tips from patients and caregivers around the world that help support physical and mental wellbeing.

Whatever your age, whatever your stage, we need to talk about living with kidney cancer.

The International Kidney Cancer Coalition is hosting a Global Symposium on June 15th to offer support and resources to patients. You can register using this link:

AACR Annual Meeting News:

Researchers Report Promising Results

Exciting research presented at the recent AACR meeting highlighted four new treatments showing promise for kidney cancer. One of these treatments is called ALLO-316, an off-the-shelf CAR T-cell therapy.

In a phase I trial, ALLO-316 demonstrated encouraging results in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The therapy showed an overall response rate of 17% and a disease control rate of 89%.

Importantly, the treatment did not cause unexpected side effects. ALLO-316 targets a protein called CD70, which is found in up to 80% of RCC tumors. Further studies are planned to explore this therapy's potential for other types of CD70-positive cancers.

Are you following KidneyCAN online? Tag @KidneyCAN

in your #kidneycancer posts!

KidneyCAN has launched an online shop for our friends to support our work and raise awareness with KidneyCAN apparel! Wear your KidneyCAN spirit with pride, and know that every penny we receive from your purchase goes toward accelerating cures for kidney cancer!

Our mission is to accelerate cures for kidney cancer. We engage in patient advocacy and power research by supporting government and industry research funding, facilitating research collaborations, and offering direct financial support for clinical and laboratory researchers with promising ideas. Our work is funded by grassroots donors from all over the United States. We can't do this without your support.

KidneyCAN is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit and does not receive any funding through the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) or KCRP (Kidney Cancer Research Program). KidneyCAN's work is funded entirely through donations and contributions.