Debbie's Dream Foundation Announces the Gastroesophageal Cancer Educational Virtual Symposium in Partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center

Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer (DDF) will host the Gastroesophageal Cancer Educational Virtual Symposium in partnership with Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center in Boston, Massachusetts. The event is designed for patients, families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals and will take place on Saturday, December 5, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. All presentations will be available to registered attendees via a state of the art virtual conference simulation platform.

Registered attendees can expect to learn about the latest in research, treatments, surgical options, genomic testing, and more from some of the top oncologist from across the country via virtual conference lecture halls. The information presented will be specific to stomach cancer patients, but many topics are relevant to cancer patients of all types. Topics will include topics early detection, radiation oncology, surgical methods, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, genomic testing, nutrition, and more.

DDF Scientific and Medical Advisory Board member Dr. Samuel Klempner will lead the event as Symposium Chair. Dr. Klempner is a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. He looks forward to leading an informative virtual symposium for patients, caregivers, and families.

"Working with Debbie's Dream Foundation on educational content for stomach cancer patients has been extremely rewarding for me," said Dr. Klempner. "It gives me great hope to think of all the patients and caregivers who'll greatly benefit from learning about the latest developments in gastric cancer research, and in turn, become empowered active participants in shared decision making during their journey."

Andrea Eidelman, Chief Executive Officer of DDF, is excited to continue the foundation's tradition of bringing important education to patients and families through a virtual platform as a direct result of support from industry partners.

"DDF is known for providing the latest information and education about gastric cancer-related topics to the stomach cancer community," said Andrea Eidelman. "Thanks to our collaborative partners at Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, as well as our generous sponsors, we can continue to evolve the channels in which we bring critical information to those who need it most."

Sponsorship for this symposium is provided by National Platinum Sponsor Daiichi Sankyo; National Gold Sponsor Merck; National Silver Sponsors Bristol Myers Squibb and Taiho Oncology; National Bronze Sponsor Lilly Oncology, and National Copper Sponsor Genentech. To register for this event, visit www.DebbiesDream.org/events/mghsymposium.

About Debbie's Dream Foundation: Curing Stomach Cancer

DDF is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness about gastric cancer, advancing funding for research, and providing education and support internationally to patients, families, and caregivers. DDF seeks as its ultimate goal to make the cure for stomach cancer a reality.

DDF was founded in 2009 by Debbie Zelman after she was diagnosed with stage IV incurable gastric cancer in 2008 and given only weeks to live. Debbie is considered a pioneer by many for bringing awareness to the plight of stomach cancer patients worldwide, as well as to the lack of federal funding for stomach cancer research. She did all of this while receiving hundreds of rounds of chemo, in addition to daily oral treatments. Debbie passed away on December 23, 2017, at the age of 50, almost a decade later. As a result of her leadership, DDF now has a Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of world-renowned doctors and chapters throughout the United States and in Canada and Germany. DDF strives to continue Debbie's mission and to make her dream a reality. To learn more about DDF, please visit us at www.DebbiesDream.org.