R.I. Cancer Summit Speakers to Discuss Gynecologic Cancers, Cancer in LGBTQ Community

The 13th annual Rhode Island Cancer Summit will host three keynote speakers who plan to focus on gynecologic cancers and cancer in the LGBTQ community.

The event, hosted by the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island, takes place on June 13 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick.

Dr. Matthew T. Oliver, a gynecologic oncologist at Women & Infants Hospital and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, will speak about treatment, trials and advances for gynecologic cancers.

Dr. Don S. Dizon, professor of medicine at Brown University and director of women’s cancers at Lifespan Cancer Institute, will focus on risk factors, barriers and effective communication about cancer among the LGBTQ population.

Scout, deputy director of the National LGBT Cancer Project and principal investigator of the LGBTQ tobacco-related disparity network, will speak about data collection challenges, tobacco use disparities and improving cancer survivorship in the LGBTQ community.

Other presenters include cancer survivor and former NFL player Joe Andruzzi and his wife, Jen Andruzzi, who founded the Joe Andruzzi Foundation in 2008 to contribute financial help for cancer patients and their families in New England.

A panel discussion at the end of the summit will touch on surviving cancer, treatment decisions and changes, symptoms and side effects, managing work and relationships, and maintaining quality of life.

To register, visit the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island’s website, www.prcri.org. Admission is free, although health care providers interested in earning continuing education units will be charged a fee.