Dr. Jason Sicklick
On Saturday, January 24, the Moores Cancer Center in sunny San Diego played host to the first of our 2015 GIST Days of Learning. Nearly fifty GIST patients, caregivers, family members and volunteers participated in the event at the University of California San Diego Medical Center campus.
A GIST Day of Learning (GDOL) is a free, one-day program that provides both education and support to the GIST community. Medical professionals who have specialty experience with GIST patients give presentations on issues relevant to their fields. GDOLs provide an opportunity not only to meet and interact with local expert practitioners in an intimate setting, but also for patients to connect with one another in a supportive environment.
Speakers for Saturday’s event included Malcolm Aste, Director of Development of Moores Cancer Center and Mildred Menos, Assistant Program Director at Life Raft Group, who provided an overview of their respective organizations’ missions and services. LRG state leader Dina Wiley greeted current LRG members and invited new ones to join the educational and support group meetings she organizes around Southern California throughout the year. Expert medical presentations were provided by clinical oncologist Dr. Paul Fanta and surgeon Dr. Jason Sicklick. These doctors often work as a team to provide the best in personalized medical care. Both underscored the importance of mutational testing and incorporating mutational results into a treatment plan. Highlights included Dr. Sicklick’s video of an oral extraction of a GIST tumor via endoscopic surgical technique and the unique case study of a successful treatment plan that Dr. Fanta recently published which featured a member of the day’s audience.
Interested in having the LRG come to your city for our next GDOL? Email your ideas to Laura Occhiuzzi at locchiuzzi@liferaftgroup.org
