Educational conference in NYC

By Suzie Siegel, board member

The Sarcoma Foundation of America, our sister organization, will present its annual Patient Educational Conference May 1 in New York City.

Patients, families, caregivers and medical professionals will attend the conference 11 a.m to 3:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, 109 E. 42nd St. Admission is $35, including a buffet lunch and a workbook based on the doctors' talks.

SFA is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The Sarcoma Alliance is its "older" sister -- this is our 12th year. Our founders knew each other, and we have always worked together on issues. SFA focuses on raising money for research while the Alliance concentrates on patient education, guidance and support. But there is overlap, of course, with the NYC conference being just one example.

The SFA has kindly allowed me to have a table at the conference this year. Please feel free to stop by, talk about what's new and see if the Alliance can help you in some way.

The expertise of the physicians on the panel is very impressive, and they will answer questions after their talks. Here is the lineup:

Raphael E. Pollock, MD, PhD, FACS
Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston
Topic: Advances in Sarcoma Surgery

Dina Chelouche Lev, MD
Assistant Professor, M.D. Anderson
Topic: Advances in Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors

George D. Demetri, MD
Director, Ludwig Center at the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and Sarcoma Center in Boston
Topic: Future Directions of Sarcoma Therapy

John S.J. Brooks, MD, FRCPath
Director, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia
Topic: Advances in Sarcoma Pathology

Robert G. Maki, MD, PhD
Professor, Department of Pediatrics & Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City
Topic: Emerging Therapies for Sarcoma Patients

John M. Goldberg, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Topic: Advances in Sarcoma Vaccines and Immunotherapy