Events on tap to honor young cancer survivors
Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and the Vanderbilt Cancer Center will host the region's first Pediatric Cancer Survivors Conference Saturday, June 7, at the Cumberland Science Museum.
Dr. H. Stacy Nicholson, a national expert in the late effects of pediatric cancer and its treatment, will be the keynote speaker at the conference, which will run from 9 a.m. to noon. Nicholson is clinical and research associate in Hematology/Oncology at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., and holds an appointment in the Clinical Epidemiology Branch of the National Cancer Institute.
The conference is one of two events during the first week of June for cancer survivors and their families.
Adult survivors and their families will celebrate National Cancer Survivors Day on Sunday, June 1, with a picnic in Centennial Park hosted by the Vanderbilt Cancer Center and Saint Thomas Health Services.
The "Celebration of Life" picnic is free and open to anyone who is facing or has faced a diagnosis of cancer. The event will be 1 p.m.-4 p.m., rain or shine, on the croquet courts. To register, call 222-2074.
The Pediatric Cancer Survivors Conference will also include special activities for children and panel discussions featuring survivors and their families. Lunch will be served.
The conference is free and open to anyone who has had a diagnosis of cancer before age 21. However, reservations are requested. To make a reservation, call 936-0000, voice mail extension 2-4161.