On March 13, health care professionals, universities, health organizations, and patients will gather to make meaningful progress in public awareness of diseases of the kidney. The Kidney Cancer Association marks the occasion with a campaign to increase disease awareness, including kidney cancer, and ultimately inspire positive changes in health care systems and practices around the world, with the hope that a cure will be found found for diseases that include malignancies of the kidney.
Kidney Cancer Association CEO, Bill Bro, said, "This is the second year our organization has joined the effort to promote World Kidney Day. Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and Renal Cell
Carcinoma (RCC) are conditions about which the general public lacks awareness. By joining this effort to promote World Kidney Day, we hope that people will recognize the important role
that healthy kidneys play in our daily lives."
The Association encourages people to join the American Kidney Cancer Alliance, an ad-hoc group dedicated to the eradication of kidney cancer, by joining the Virtual March on Capitol Hill
letter writing campaign on World Kidney Day. Anyone can write a letter to Congress or local media by using the free on-line tools provided by the Alliance through the Association's
advocacy website, www.akca.us.
"We hope that those affected any kidney disease condition, including malignancies, will take a few minutes on World Kidney Day to help to increase public awareness and the need for
federally funded medical research," Bro added.
"We are pleased that so many big name stars are supporting World Kidney Day this year. Their endorsement will help to bring more visibility to the occasion. Our Virtual March on Capitol
Hill affords participants an opportunity to take meaningful action, but without the necessity for travel to Washington, DC. We know that "cookie cutter" templates don't work, so we hope
that people will take the time to write a truly personal letter to their elected officials by using our free on-line tools, available at www.akca.us," he
concluded.
The Kidney Cancer Association (KCA) is a charitable organization made up of patients, family members, physicians, researchers, and other health professionals globally. We fund, promote,
and collaborate with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), American Urological Association (AUA), and other institutions on research
projects. We educate families and physicians, and serve as an advocate on behalf of patients at the state and federal levels.
The Association was founded in 1990 by a small group of patients, including Eugene P. Schonfeld, Ph.D., and medical doctors in Chicago, Illinois. It is a nonprofit charity incorporated in
the State of Illinois. It has also been designated as a tax exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service code. Donations to the Association are tax
deductible. It serves nearly 50,000 people in more than 100 countries.