Laura Esfeller

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

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

Will definitely miss you, my friend!! Agreed - thank you for being a trailblazer in having us here!! 🧡

#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

Thank you, Sid. 🧡🧡🧡

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

Thanks for the hello, my friend! Yes, next time in person for sure!! 🧡🧡🧡

Excellent question as always. I think we will only find traction if we come together. How we get there? I think the advocates have to put aside any differences and band together.

I am so sorry for your loss & for what you’re going through with your wife & sister. You are not alone in your feelings. This is devastating.

#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

I have no idea either. Won’t win them any Republican support and will only make their Democratic supporters angry.

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.

In the IE!! Happy Women’s Day!

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

Hard to believe this is an oops.

Comprehensive Cancer Information Accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive cancer information from the U.S. government's principal agency for cancer research.

Uh…Happy Kidney Cancer Awareness Month, y’all, and is cancer.gov is down for anyone else?!?

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.

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

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. 💪