MOCA Board Member Linda Linder and MOCA Medical Education Program Manager Kathy McGovern staffed the MOCA informational booth at the 2012 Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians conference in Minneapolis in late April. MOCA Medical Advisory Committee member Dr. Peter Argenta presented information on ovarian cancer, as well. Linda provides a guest blog post on how the conference and presentation raised awareness of ovarian cancer.
In late April, MOCA had the opportunity to have a booth at the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians (MAFP) 2012 Annual Spring Refresher, held at the Minneapolis Convention Center. Nearly 400 Minnesota family physicians attended, providing MOCA with multiple opportunities to advance the mission and goals of our organization.
For many of the physicians, this was the first time they had heard of MOCA. While visiting the MOCA booth, they took information about the National Comprehensive Cancer Network’s (NCCN) physician practice guidelines for themselves and educational materials for their patients, while expressing gratitude for the outstanding research efforts MOCA has made possible. The MOCA exhibit booth was eye catching, with the bold teal lettering identifying MOCA.
Of particular interest was a presentation by Dr. Peter Argenta, a gynecologic oncologist and MOCA Medical Advisory Committee member practicing at the University of Minnesota Medical Center – Fairview. He provided an informative, and at times humorous, presentation on recent advances in ovarian cancer treatment. The audience was captivated as he relayed the encouraging news regarding survival rates. The slide of MOCA’s Young Survivor Network – complete with their teal t-shirts on – was both sobering and surprising for the audience!
Immediately following his presentation the afternoon break commenced. This resulted in every physician who walked by the booth to comment favorably on the style of his presentation, as well as what they learned from his expertise.
While reaching the physicians with information about ovarian cancer symptoms, risks, and treatments was the objective of MOCA, other conference attendees gleaned awareness of this disease, as well. Most notably, other booth exhibitors! Many people from industry, health care organizations, and other nonprofit organizations stopped to inquire about ovarian cancer – maximizing the opportunities for exposure of MOCA!