Midwest Brain Tumor Conference Highlights Treatments, Wellness

CINCINNATI—The 2012 Midwest Regional Brain Tumor Conference, a free educational event for patients, caregivers and family members, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Meridian Conference Center (located inside the Wingate by Wyndham Hotel), 7500 Tylers Place Blvd., in West Chester Township, Ohio.

The conference, titled "Hope, Innovation, Progress, Support,” is presented by the Brain Tumor Center at the University of Cincinnati (UC) Neuroscience Institute, one of four institutes affiliated with the UC College of Medicine and UC Health. Educational sponsorship is provided by the American Brain Tumor Association. The conference’s director is Christopher McPherson, MD, director of the division of surgical neuro-oncology at the UC College of Medicine and a neurosurgeon with the Mayfield Clinic.

Speakers will provide patients, survivors and caregivers with the latest information about treatment and maximizing quality of life. Topics will include optimizing health and healing, what’s new in radiation, advances in brain tumor surgery and the future of brain tumor care.

Breakout sessions will focus on brain tumor types: pituitary adenoma, acoustic neuroma, meningioma and glioma. An additional breakout session will cover wellness.

Featured speakers and breakout session leaders include the following members of the UC faculty and UC Brain Tumor Center:

• John Breneman, MD, Charles M. Barrett Professor of radiation oncology and neurosurgery.
• Rekha Chaudhary, MD, assistant professor of hematology oncology.
• Richard Curry, MD, assistant professor of hematology oncology and neurology.
• Mary Gaskill-Shipley, MD, professor of radiology.
• Christopher McPherson, MD, assistant professor and director of the division of surgical neuro-oncology.
• Myles Pensak, MD, H.B. Broidy Professor and chairman of the UC Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.
• John Tew, MD, professor and clinical director of the UC Neuroscience Institute.
• Philip Theodosopoulos, MD, associate professor and director, division of skull base surgery.
• Ronald Warnick, MD, director of the UC Brain Tumor Center and chairman of the Mayfield Clinic.
• Lee Zimmer, MD, PhD, associate professor and director, Endoscopic Cranial Base Center, division of sinus surgery.

The conference is free and includes free parking and a continental breakfast. Participants are asked to register by Oct. 23, 2012, by calling 513-558-8642 or by registering online at  www.ucbraintumorcenter.com/events. An event brochure is available online and can be downloaded as a PDF.

The symposium is part of Beacon of Hope Weekend, which includes the third annual Walk Ahead for a Brain Tumor Cure on Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012. Proceeds support brain tumor research and education at the UC Brain Tumor Center. The event will feature a 5-kilometer chip-timed run, beginning at 8 a.m., and a 5-kilometer walk that will follow at 8:45. The wheelchair-accessible route will start and finish at Yeatman's Cove at Sawyer Point Park and will include a stroll across the Purple People Bridge. The celebration following the walk/run will feature music and refreshments.

To register, donate or volunteer, please visit www.walkahead.org. For sponsorship information, contact Gina Weitzel at 513-558-6112 or gina.weitzel@uc.edu.