Nevada Cancer Control Summit

Friday, Aug. 23

Saturday, Aug. 24 - Clinical Oncology Focus

Stacey Escalante
Stacey Escalante spent more than two decades as a broadcast reporter and was well-known in the Las Vegas market when she was diagnosed with stage 3 melanoma. At the time of diagnosis her son was 2, and her daughter was 6 months. She documented her treatment experience on TV and continues to do interviews promoting sun safety and skin cancer awareness. She sees it as her mission to get people to cover up from the sun and get regular skin checks. Her testimony at the Nevada Legislature was pivotal in helping pass the indoor tanning law. In 2013 Nevada was the fourth state in the nation to prohibit minors under 18 from using indoor tanning devices.  Escalante was part of the 2014 U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to Action on Skin Cancer, which helped to kick off NCC’s Sun Smart Nevada program and sun safety efforts across the state.

Arash Asher, MD
Dr. Arash Asher has served as the Director of Cancer Survivorship & Rehabilitation at Cedars-Sinai Cancer since 2008. He has a special interest in the physical and rehabilitative needs of cancer survivors who continue to experience the effects of their cancer or its treatment. Dr. Asher has led the development a number of unique cancer survivorship programs with his colleagues, including Emerging from the Haze, GRACE and others with the goal of optimizing physical, psychological, and spiritual resilience for patients with cancer. Dr. Asher completed a physical medicine and rehabilitation residency at the UCLA/Greater Los Angeles VA, and a cancer rehabilitation fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Kristie Howlett, MS, CNS, NP-C, AOCNP
Kristie is a Nurse Practitioner and owner of Howlett Integrative Cancer Care, a telemedicine practice serving patients across the country. In this role she helps patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiation, and into survivorship, increase immune function and decrease toxicity of treatment with a focus on a terrain centric approach that looks at the whole person.

She originally attended University of Nevada, Reno where she received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing. She then worked as a bedside nurse and later moved into a
clinical manager role for the next eight years. During this time, she completed her Master of Science with a focus in Oncology Nursing, graduating from University of California, San Francisco in 2008 as an Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist. She then worked as an Oncology CNS in both the inpatient and outpatient setting for six years. In 2012, she went on to complete a post-master’s Nurse Practitioner Certificate in Adult-Geriatric Care from University of Massachusetts, Boston. She has obtained education through the Institute for Functional Medicine. She has completed the Metabolic Approach to Cancer Master Course for practitioners. She is Board Certified as an Adult Nurse Practitioner, maintains her Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse Practitioner Certification, and is licensed in the states of California, Idaho, Nevada and Washington. She is currently pursuing her Society of Metabolic Health Practitioners Accreditation.

Chivonne Harrigal, MD
Dr. Harrigal (aka Dr. H) is a radiologist who specializes in cancer imaging. She received her M.D. degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in 2005. She graduated from the Stanford University Radiology residency program in 2011 and from Stanford’s fellowship program in Breast Imaging in 2012. Dr. H has lived and worked in the Reno-Tahoe area since 2012. She is passionate about spreading the message that cancer screening saves lives. 

Sam Nourani, MD
Dr. Sam Nourani is a board-certified gastroenterologist at Digestive Health Associates, focusing on interventional procedures: cancer staging, cancer resection, control of complicated bleeding, and advanced pancreatic and biliary procedures.

Andy Pasternak, MD, MS
Dr. Andy Pasternak graduated from the University of Michigan Inteflex program (combined BS/MD) in 1993. He completed his family medicine residency and primary care research fellowship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He moved to Reno in 1998 and started Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine in 2005. Dr. Pasternak is a community clinical professor at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine and research director for the Sports Medicine fellowship. He is the medical director for the Tahoe Rim Trail Endurance Races and the Western States 100. Since 2012, he has been a board member of Access to Health Care. Starting in 2022, he was named as an Associate Editor for the Annals of Family Medicine. Finally, he was proud to serve as the 117th President of the Nevada State Medical Association.

In his free time, he enjoys trail running, bicycling, cross-country skiing, and traveling with his lovely and talented wife, Dr. JoAnn Ellero. He is also the lead tuba player and
started the Jibboom Street Marching band which has won multiple awards in the Truckee 4th of July parade.

Scout, MA, PhD
Scout (they/he) is the Executive Director of the National LGBTQI+ Cancer Network and the principal investigator of both the CDC-funded LGBTQI+ tobacco-related cancer disparity network and Out: The National Cancer Survey. They spend much of their time providing technical assistance for tobacco and cancer focusing agencies expanding their reach and engagement with LGBTQ+ populations. Scout has a long history in health policy analysis and a particular interest in expanding LGBTQI+ surveillance and research. They have faculty appointments at both Brown University and Boston Universities’ Schools of Public Health. They are a member of FDA’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, a longtime
member of the NIH Council of Councils, on the Advisory Panel for NIH’s All of Us initiative, and the former Co-Chair of the NIH Sexual and Gender Minority Research Office Work Group. Their work has won them recognition from the U.S. House of Representatives, two state governments, and many city governments. Scout is an openly nonbinary and trans father of three, a vegetarian, an avid hiker and climber.

Erin Sullivan Wagner
Erin is a 16-year survivor of anal cancer. As a result of her radiation treatment, she experienced sexual health side effects that went untreated until 6 months after treatment and the issues became permanent. After her cancer experience, she facilitated support groups, trained as a life coach, and started a coaching business for patients: After Cancer, Solutions for Sexual Health. Her advocacy work continued through the Iowa Cancer Consortium, where she has been a member since 2014, and served as the co-chair of the Quality-of-Life Implementation group.

After collaborating with sexual medicine clinicians about the common side effects and treatments for sexual health side effects from cancer, Erin started the All of Me project in 2016, a grant funded project through the Iowa Cancer Consortium. The All of Me team developed patient handouts and educational materials, hosted conferences, and conducted accredited workshops across Iowa for oncology providers and care team members on an implementation framework for addressing sexual health in cancer care. In November of 2022, After Cancer transitioned to a non-profit organization, where Erin serves as the Executive Director, and continue to develop educational resources to close the communication gap between patients and providers, related to sexual health in cancer care. After Cancer is committed to delivering affordable and accessible resources to assist facilities in developing sexual health programs within their organization.

Allison Genco, MPH
Allison is the Nevada Director of Government Relations for Dignity Health St. Rose Dominican. She most recently served as Public Health Resource Officer and Health Policy Advisor to Governor Joe Lombardo. She was first appointed to the role in April of 2022 by Governor Steve Sisolak. In her role as Public Health Resource Officer, she analyzed Nevada’s public health infrastructure and made recommendations to the Governor, Legislature, and Director of the Department of Health and Human Services on ways Nevada can improve public health. She is the current chair of the Governor’s Council on Food Security and is a member of theState Emergency Response Commission. She is also Vice President of the Nevada Public Health Association Northern Chapter. Allison received her undergraduate degree in Community Health Sciences with an emphasis in public health.

John Westhoff, MD, MPH
John Westhoff, MD, MPH, is a retired Army Colonel with 25 years of active-duty service. He is residency-trained and board-certified in emergency medicine, public health and general preventive medicine, and occupational and environmental medicine. He is a graduate of Munich American High School (’89), Brigham Young University (BS ‘95), the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (MD ‘99), and the University of Washington (MPH ’11). Dr. Westhoff teaches epidemiology, biostatistics, and health systems science
at the UNR School of Medicine, where he serves as Director of Evidence and Systems-based Practice and Assistant Dean for Student Research. An artificial intelligence aficionado, he incorporates AI into his daily workflow and represents the School of Medicine on the UNR AI Task Force.

Since retiring from the military and moving to Reno in 2020, Dr. Westhoff and his wife Rachel have enjoyed exploring the wilds of the western United States in their camper van. They have been married for 31 years and have five children and five grandchildren. Dr. Westhoff is a follower of German professional soccer, an avid skier, and a mediocre trail runner. Dr. Westhoff practices clinically in the Emergency Departments of Banner Churchill Community Hospital in Fallon, NV, and Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center in Carson City, NV.

Lee Schwartzberg, MD
Dr. Schwartzberg’s research interests focus on breast cancer, supportive care, precision medicine and patient reported outcomes. He is Chief, Medical Oncology and Hematology at the at the William N. Pennington Cancer Institute at Renown Health and Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of Nevada School of Medicine Reno. He has published over 300 peer reviewed manuscripts, book chapters and monographs. He is founding editor in chief of the Elsevier website Practice Update Oncology and founding editor in chief of the journal Community Oncology. Dr. Schwartzberg was honored as the 2023 Legends in Cancer honoree at the Best of Breast conference for his contributions to the field of breast cancer.

Jefferson Chambers, DO
Jeff Chambers is an assistant professor of medicine and the newly appointed Medical Director of Respiratory Therapy at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, UT where he practices interventional pulmonology. His clinical interests include pulmonary nodules, robotic assisted navigational bronchoscopy, and malignant pleural effusions. He completed pulmonary/critical care as well as interventional pulmonary fellowships at the University of Utah and is happy to have been able to stay on as faculty since 2022. In his spare time, Jeff enjoys cycling, trail running, and spending time with his wife, two kids and one geriatric dog.

Shedding Light: Investigating Skin Cancer Awareness among Students with Skin of Color
Samantha Chang, Allison Gunderson, Katrina Kozak, Surya Suvvari, Whitney Hovenic M.D., University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine in partnership with Nevada Cancer Coalition Sun Smart Program

Effect of Rurality on Stage of Cervical Cancer Diagnosis
University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine
Leila Hollis, Katy Glaittli, Soha Elfass and Kellie Watkins, PhD

Epidemiology and Natural History of Anal Cancer at Renown Regional Medical Center between 2012-2022.
Organization: Renown Regional Medical Center
Authors: Amil Trujillo, Molly Hagen, Aren Balikian, Garrett Green.

JFSA Breast Cancer Support Program: Enhancing the Quality of Life for Individuals and their Families Affected by Breast Cancer 
Jewish Family Service Agency Las Vegas

B&A Entertainment Services Breast Cancer Outreach Program
B&A Entertainment Services
Linda Haley-Willis and Cheryl Ballard

Developing a Nevada Home-Based Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Toolkit
Tayler Gerhard, University of Nevada, Reno

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint providership of the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine and the Nevada Cancer Coalition. The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education in physicians. 

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 9 hours AMA PRA Category 1 Credits. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Continuing Education Credit

The University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine approves this program for 9 hours of nursing continuing education credit.

Learning Objectives

Following participation in this course, participants should be able to:

• Understand a whole-person approach to survivorship care
• Describe two co-morbidities that affect survivors
• List three lifestyle changes that can improve overall health and wellness In a cancer survivor
• Describe the various etiologies implicated in Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment (CRCI)
• Summarize potential lifestyle treatment strategies for CRCI among cancer survivors
• Recognize opportunities for research of lifestyle strategies for CRCI
• Review barriers to cancer screening in primary care
• Discuss solutions to improve cancer screening
• Describe cancer and health disparities experienced by LGBTQI+ communities
• Identify health system changes that can be made to improve health outcomes for LGBTQI+ patients
• Develop strategies for promoting LGBTQI+ inclusivity in their own hospitals and cancer centers
• Review the current screening recommendations for breast, cervical, colorectal, prostate, and lung cancers and the screening methods available for each.
• Discuss emerging cancer early detection tests, such as MCED, including their advantages, disadvantages, accuracy, utility, and cost-effectiveness.
• Describe emerging and existing screening options as part of patient counseling for cancer early detection in a primary care setting.
• Discuss the workings, limitations, and capabilities of artificial intelligence technologies, differentiating generative AI and traditional machine learning methods.
• Describe current applications of AI in medicine, and discuss emerging trends that will influence future developments in the field.
• Explore the Current Impact of AI on Administrative Workflow, Medical Practice, and Research 
• Discuss 4 of the 6 components of the 30-Second message to normalize the conversation the sexual health topic with patients
• Identify topics covered by After Cancer’s educational handouts for patients
• Describe 3 cancer treatment-related side effects that can negatively impact sexual health

Thank you to all of our amazing exhibitors and sponsors! 

We are full for 2024. If you would like to be on the interest list for 2025 in Las Vegas, please email us.

Being an exhibitor or sponsor at the Nevada Cancer Control Summit gives your organization the opportunity to support cancer control in Nevada and education and networking for cancer control professionals throughout the state.