What We Do
Patients, caregivers, family and friends, clinicians and researchers – if your life has been impacted by kidney cancer, we welcome you to our community.
for patients
KidneyCAN provides patient education and support. We are building a patient resource center here on our website, in addition to the direct outreach offered via social media, patient forums, and our special events.
A few times a year, we gather our community for a Town Hall discussion. We invite prominent doctors and research leaders, as well as experienced patients and caregivers, share news to help others. Topics vary, but connecting patients directly to experts is powerful. We love to hear from you!
Whether you are newly diagnosed or have been living with cancer for years, we strive to be a source of community and encouragement.
KidneyCAN Town Halls
If you’re interested in staying up-to-date on the latest in kidney cancer research, you won’t want to miss this kidney cancer research town hall. In this virtual event, two leading medical oncologists, Dr. Rana McKay of UC San Diego Health Center and Dr. Hans Hammers of UT Southwestern Medical Center, share the most promising 2022 kidney cancer research and what they expect to see in 2023.
Dr. McKay covers topics including perioperative therapy, frontline therapy for advanced kidney cancer, and non-clear cell trials, providing detailed information about several trials and their potential impact. Dr. Hammers discusses a variety of upcoming trials, including those related to HIF inhibition, AXL inhibitors, and immunotherapy.
If you missed the live event, don’t worry—you can still watch the full video, which includes both presentations as well as a patient/caregiver Q&A.
Want to be in the loop for the next town hall? Make sure you’re subscribed for our newsletters and alerts, and follow us on social media!
for researchers

KidneyCAN is dedicated to accelerating kidney cancer research. We offer opportunities for researchers to network and advocate. Thank you for joining us here!
Our advocacy for the CDMRP Kidney Cancer Research Program has resulted in Congressional appropriations of $235 million for kidney cancer research in fiscal years 2017-2023. (In 2016, this number was $0.) We help researchers get funding and connect with other researchers to keep progress moving.
In 2019, we hosted the first-ever Kidney Cancer Research Summit to bring translational researchers in kidney cancer together in an annual collaborative meeting. In 2020, KCRS reached a global audience of over 800 registrants, and we were excited to have kept this momentum growing with our most successful summit – KCRS22 held in October of 2022. If you missed out this year, sign-up to receive our newsletters and join in the discussions at KCRS23 in Boston on July 13-14, 2023.
ADVOCACY
Making progress toward cures requires advocacy.
What are we advocating for? Awareness? Funding? Research? Cures?
We are committed to advancing kidney cancer research by speaking up for the kidney cancer community. When legislators and organizers meet on Capitol Hill to discuss funding, we make sure kidney cancer gets a seat at the table.
Advocacy work is an all-hands-on-deck endeavor. We invite you to join us and see how empowering it can be to speak up!
NEWLY DIAGNOSED?
You’re not alone. We’ve put together a Patient Resource Center to help you navigate a new diagnosis and beyond. Learn about kidney cancer, various treatment options, patient education events, and how to live well with cancer.
SMART PATIENTS
Sometimes what you really need is to talk to someone who understands. At SmartPatients.com, we have a community of active patients and caregivers who share information and resources.