On Saturday, June 18th, Kaiser Permanente hosted its 3rd Annual Cancer Survivor Day to celebrate members living with, through, and beyond cancer. More than 800 survivors and their family members gathered to connect with and learn from each other and to participate in free wellness activities, informational sessions and various workshops led by Kaiser Permanente’s expert physicians and care teams.
Leon Hwang, M.D., and Aloysius Periera, M.D. – both Chiefs of Oncology – kicked off the event by telling personal stories about how cancer has touched them and their families. “Cancer touches us all,” said Dr. Periera. “Fortunately, you are not alone.” Dr. Hwang told the room about how his father’s cancer diagnosis had inspired him and his father to lead better lives. He said the one redeeming quality of cancer is that it makes you realize how precious time is.
Experts from The Permanente Medical Group provided in-depth information to attendees during 18 breakout sessions. Topics ran the gamut from nutrition planning to advances in immunotherapy. This was also the first year that Kaiser Permanente added programming focused on pediatric patients. The event had two sessions for this audience: “My Child Has Been Diagnosed: Understanding the Long-Term Effects of Cancer Treatment” and “The Pediatric Patient Transitioning to Adulthood.”
In addition to the informational sessions, the event also included a Health Expo, where guests had the opportunity to meet with a physician and learn information about staying up-to-date on regular screenings and doctor’s appointments. The expo also included information about registering for KP.org and our BioBank research effort, which we announced earlier this year. It also included a demo of our video visits, including instruction on our new scheduling capability.
Some of the onsite wellness activities included yoga, meditation, art therapy, chair massages, and beauty tips for cancer survivors. Additionally, there was a photo booth and video sessions that allowed members to share their stories.
A special thanks to all our clinical experts and the more than 100 volunteers who spent their Saturday making this event such a success. Stay tuned for more stories in the following two weeks about some of the presentations at the event. Check out more photos from the event here (password: kaiser).
