St. Anthony’s Hospital’s Faith Community Nursing Conference Offers Hope After Cancer Diagnosis

September 23, 2015

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., (Sept. 23, 2015) – St. Anthony’s Hospital’s Faith Community Nursing team will bring physicians, survivors and caregivers together for the daylong conference, Cancer: Hope for Tomorrow on Friday, Oct. 16. Treatments, resources and survivorship will be among the main topics of the conference.

The free conference, which is in its sixth year and focuses on a different topic each year, will be from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Pasadena Community Church, 227 70th St. S, St. Petersburg. Education on prostate cancer, skin cancer, breast cancer and other commonly diagnosed cancers will be available. Participants also will have the opportunity to submit questions to be addressed by a panel of oncology physicians, a nutritionist, cancer survivors and a financial specialist.

“According to the National Cancer Institute, more than 1.6 million new cancer cases are projected to be diagnosed in the United States this year,” said Deborah Rivard, St. Anthony’s Faith Community Nursing manager. “We know with advances in treatment, more than 13 million people are living with cancer. We want to have an open dialogue about the disease and offer valuable resources to those survivors, their families and caregivers here in the Tampa Bay area.”

Dr. Robert Miller, a St. Anthony’s physician who specializes in internal medicine and therapeutic radiology, will be the keynote speaker. Dr. Miller will discuss common cancers, treatments and their side effects and discuss the important role of the caregiver in the patient’s treatment.   

Other speakers include:

  • Eric Diner, MD, a urologist, will discuss male cancers and prostate cancer.
  • Ronsha’ Brown, ARNP, who will discuss new medicines and treatments for cancer. 
  • Fr. John Mullet, St. Anthony’s director of pastoral care, and Rev. Mardie Chapman, St. Anthony’s pastoral care, will speak about spirituality and the healing arts.
  • Ronda Buffington, RN, St. Joseph’s Hospital oncology community outreach resource nurse, will talk about survivorship.

    The panel will be moderated by Sandra Bailey, manager of cancer services for St. Anthony’s radiation therapy. Speakers on the panel include:
  • Radiologist Claudia Bundschu, MD, who is medical director of St. Anthony’s Susan Sheppard McGillicuddy Breast Center;
  • Laura Milburn, a St. Anthony’s registered dietitian;
  • Angie Gregory, a St. Anthony’s financial navigator who will discuss oncology financial resources; and
  • Survivors Carolynn Drzycimski, a St. Anthony’s Faith Community Nurse, and Meg Myers, of St. Anthony’s quality department.

Health care vendors also will present cancer resources.  A continental breakfast and lunch will be served. This program has applied for five continuing education credits (CEUs) for health care professionals.

For information or to register, call (727) 825-1709.

About St. Anthony’s Hospital
St. Anthony’s Hospital is a 393-bed hospital founded in 1931 as a ministry of the Franciscan Sisters of Allegany and was the first faith-based hospital in Pinellas County. For more information on St. Anthony’s, call (727) 953-6993.

About BayCare Health System
BayCare is a leading not-for-profit health care system that connects individuals and families to a wide range of services at 13 hospitals and hundreds of other convenient locations throughout the Tampa Bay and central Florida regions. Inpatient and outpatient services include acute care, primary care, imaging, laboratory, behavioral health, home care, and wellness. Our mission is to improve the health of all we serve through community-owned, health care services that set the standard for high-quality, compassionate care.

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