I wouldn’t be alive today if he wouldn’t have been my onc. He gave me hope when I needed it most & treated me as a human 1st, patient 2nd. My only regret is not being able to work w/him @swog.org Hope I’m making you proud, Dr. V. I owe you everything! #VogelzangScholars @supportingswog.bsky.social
Laura Esfeller
@lauraesfeller.bsky.social
Metastatic kidney cancer survivor. HLRCC patient. Statistical abnormality. Fighting for durable cures. Cajun expat in SoCal. Views=mine. RTs ≠ endorsements. she/her
Strong showing from #GUonc #patientadvocates @swog.org: Darrell Nakagawa at #S2427 BRIGHT & Joël Pointon at #CCTG-PR.26 kickoff mtgs. Exciting to see new #bladdercancer & #prostatecancer trials open! THANK YOU to SWOG GU Cmte & @supportingswog.bsky.social for including & elevating patient voices!
@swog.org #S2200 is also still accruing!! An important trial since there are so few for #papillaryRCC. Also happy to chat w/ patients considering this for metastatic #papillarykidneycancer. In this limited non-clear cell space, patients deserve more trials like this! #SWOGFall2025
@swog.org #S1931 PROBE is still open & accruing! This will answer a crucial question in our #kidneycancer community: does #nephrectomy improve outcomes when combined w/ immunotherapy? #metastaticRCC #SWOGFall25 Happy to chat with patients considering this trial anytime.
Honored to be giving closing remarks for tomorrow’s @theNCI Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research. Cancer patients everywhere benefit when we come together to discuss & collaborate. #ASGCR25 is the perfect place for this. Registration is still open! bit.ly/46CYFrn
#ASCO25, I’ve arrived!! @ascocancer.bsky.social Annual Meeting is one I look forward to each year. I’m most proud of the #CancerSurvivor badge esp since this month’s my 9 yr #cancerversary. Grateful to @swog.org @supportingswog.bsky.social for making it possible for me to be here! #patientadvocate
Being in Phoenix twice in 1 week is 2 times too many for me. But, #ASCO2025 awaits! 🙌 Can’t wait for another great meeting! Also, fellows & early-career #GUonc please feel free to reach out if you want to connect with a #patientadvocate! #oncsky #renalsky
Vogelzang Symposium & Scholarship programs are a wonderful way of honoring this phenomenal man who helped save my life. It was an honor to be his pt & my only regret is not having the chance to work together @swog.org I can only hope I’m making him proud. Please support @supportingswog.bsky.social!
Busy morning @swog.org #GUonc mtg for me & fellow #patientadvocate Darrell Nakagawa. As the #kidneycancer & #bladdercancer #patientadvocates, we’re here representing our fellow pts in #clinicaltrial development. Thanks to @supportingswog.bsky.social & the GU cmte for empowering & including us!
SWOG 2210 is open for #prostatecancer patients w/ BRCA1 or BRCA2. Fascinating to see BRCA’s role in other cancers. Hoping we see biomarkers unlock clues in RCC soon. #GUonc #oncsky #cansky
Great reminder: @swog.org 1931 (PROBE) is open & accruing for #metastaticRCC patients. YES, you can still get a nephrectomy if you need it after randomization. NO, upfront nephrectomy does not automatically lead to better outcomes. This is a great trial for #kidneycancer patients. #oncsky #kidneysky
My mom would be celebrating her 69th birthday today if #kidneycancer & #Bcelllymphoma wouldn’t have taken her from us. So instead of celebrating her birthday with her, I’m at @swog.org Spring Meeting, doing my small part to find better outcomes for patients like us. #SWOGSpring25 #oncsky
#kidneycancer #LungCancer #pancreaticcancer & #Glioblastoma = all defunded within CDMRP this year by Pete Hegseth, Sen. McConnell & Rep. Calvert. Cancer is supposed to be nonpartisan. 591,000+ Americans are expected to be diagnosed w/ 1 of these this year. What will we tell them? #oncsky #medsky
Unfathomable: Mitch McConnell & Ken Calvert have killed the Kidney Cancer Research Program for FY25. We’re going to lose so much progress because of this. I am appalled by this decision. My life was saved by government funded research. How many other #cancerpatients will die because of this? #oncsky
These senators voted to massively cut one of the largest programs supporting #cancerresearch and #veteranhealth in the US by their vote today. Primary them all.
Heading home after another great CDMRP meeting! Incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve our kidney cancer community, especially our military, through this program& to serve amongst such giants in the field! #oncsky @kidneycan.bsky.social @tiansterzhangmd.bsky.social @wmstadler.bsky.social
Uh…Happy Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, y’all, and is cancer.gov is down for anyone else?!?
Comprehensive Cancer Information
Accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive cancer information from the U.S. government's principal agency for cancer research.
cancer.gov
New #RealTalkonRenalCancer ep alert! Happy to share this chat w/ my dear friend Dr. Adam Stern as we discuss his personal journey with #kidneycancer & other topics such as being your own best #patientadvocate. Listen now: YouTube (bit.ly/4163GVH) or Spotify (bit.ly/3CJHYP9). #JNF #oncsky #renalsky
Real Talk on Renal Cancer: Dr Adam Stern (Episode 12)
Dr. Adam Stern and host Laura Bratcher Esfeller discuss Dr. Stern's personal journey with kidney cancer, including his diagnosis at a young age, his treatments, and his experiences as both a physician and a patient. They also talk about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on one's life, career, and personal priorities as well as the importance of patient advocacy and the need for patients to actively communicate their needs and concerns to their healthcare providers. Dr. Adam Stern is a psychiatrist who previously worked at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and was on the faculty at Harvard Medical School. As of 2023, he transitioned from clinical practice to working in clinical trials, specifically in pharmacovigilance, which involves maintaining the integrity of clinical trials and keeping subjects safe during the trials. For more information on upcoming events and patient/caregiver resources from JNF, please visit jnfkidneycancer.org. This podcast is made possible because of the support of Merck.
bit.ly
Puerto Rico was incredible, snuck a quick trip to San Francisco for a #ASCOGU25 meeting & back to NOLA next wk for #MardiGras. I always think it’s funny that the pic on the left is the reality of my life just as much as the pic on the right. I’ve lived many different versions of myself this month.
Long but exciting day - on the first leg of my trip to FLASCO’s Annual Puerto Rico Oncology Symposium! Can’t wait! #patientadvocate #kidneycancer #renalcellcarcinoma #HLRCC #stagefourneedsmore #oncsky
At the New Orleans airport, I spotted a woman w/a nephrology nurse shirt on & thanked her. I explained I’m a RCC survivor & a woman at the next table over turns around & says, “I had kidney cancer too!” What are the odds?! It’s always great to meet other survivors & don’t forget to thank our nurses!
Welcome to the club no one wants to join, Dwyane Wade. Your fellow #kidneycancer survivors appreciate you sharing your story; it will undoubtedly save lives! Glad you advocated for yourself. You may have felt weak, but we can assure you - it takes a strong person to face a cancer diagnosis. 💪
Dwyane Wade said he had surgery on his kidney in 2023, with doctors removing a tumor that was later deemed to be cancerous. "Thank God that I did do the surgery," he said on his "The Why with Dwyane Wade" podcast.
Found out about this company called MediCircle in a patient support group & was amazed at how easy it was for me to donate some medication that was auto refilled & I never used. Medication is so expensive & I hate tossing it. I don’t have any affiliation w/them, but this feels like a win-win!
Do pharmaceuticals have to ruin my favorite songs? Now when I hear Landslide, I’ll think of cancer thanks to this commercial. Cancer ruins everything, seriously. #oncsky #cancersurvivor
Watching my beloved LSU beating Oklahoma & I’m so torn on the current state of college football. I support student athletes getting paid but the transfer portal really has changed the game & I’m not sure it’s all good. The conference realignments also irk me. Any other football enthusiasts on here?
Please join me in supporting the Chromophobe & Oncocytic Tumor Alliance’s Giving Tuesday campaign, raising funds for a #chromophobeRCC Scholar in Training Award with @theaacr.bsky.social. #kidneycancer #rarecancers givebutter.com/Yjzy10
Happy Thanksgiving to all, especially to my #oncsky family & fellow #cancersurvivors. While we may have challenges ahead in cancer research, I believe our community is so strong, dedicated and talented that we will weather whatever storms may come our way. Grateful to work alongside you all.
Faulty generics & growing up in literal Cancer Alley caused my cancer. Let me drink my Coke in peace, thanks.
Good night to everyone except the people who tell cancer patients the Diet Coke they drank, likely caused their cancer. #Cansky #Oncsky #Oncosky #Thankscsncer
The latest episode of Real Talk on Renal Cancer is live, featuring my convo w/ Dr. Hedyeh Ebrahimi. We talk about CBM588, a probiotic that’s showing early promise w/ #kidneycancer patients on immunotherapy & targeted therapy. This ep can be found on YouTube and Spotify! rb.gy/fc0iej rb.gy/y3vg9a
Real Talk on Renal Cancer: Dr. Hedyeh Ebrahimi (Episode 9)
YouTube video by Judy Nicholson Kidney Cancer Foundation
youtu.be
Before I get too carried away posting/skying?, more about me: dx in 2016 w/stage 4 papillary #kidneycancer. Discovered I have #HLRCC, a genetic disorder related to my diagnosis. #caregiver to my mom-who died in 2019-from RCC & #lymphoma. Marketer by day, #patientadvocate by night. #oncsky #medsky