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Home News Cancer Survivors Celebrate Life at UT Medical Center

Cancer Survivors Celebrate Life at UT Medical Center

Published: Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Approximately 700 cancer patients, their family members and friends celebrated National Cancer Survivors Day with physicians and staff at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Hosted by UT Medical Center’s Cancer Institute, Celebrating Life 2007, a local observance of National Cancer Survivors Day, honored cancer survivors who are living with and beyond cancer.

"The staff of the Cancer Institute and the medical center look forward to Celebrating Life each year because it’s such an uplifting experience to see so many cancer survivors and their families coming together on a special day that honors them," said Renee Hawk, vice president of the Cancer Institute at UT Medical Center. "Most importantly, this event provides the opportunity for cancer survivors to share with others the hope and reality that there is life after a cancer diagnosis."

According to Hawk, there are more than 10 million Americans alive today who have been diagnosed with cancer. This year marked the fifth annual celebration of Cancer Survivors Day at the medical center.

Russell Biven, co-anchor of the Live at Five television program on WBIR-TV, served as featured speaker of the event. In addition to entertaining the crowd with his wit and humor, Biven touched those in attendance as he shared his personal story of how cancer has impacted his own family. That Girl Band entertained the crowd with toe tapping bluegrass music while many healthcare professionals and other agencies provided a wealth of information at educational booths set up at the event.

Marking its 20th anniversary this year, National Cancer Survivors Day has evolved into a worldwide celebration of life that’s held in hundreds of communities throughout the United States, Canada and other participating countries. Participants unite in a symbolic event to show the world that life after a cancer diagnosis can be a reality.

The University of Tennessee Medical Center is a 581-bed, not-for-profit academic medical center, which serves as a referral center for Eastern Tennessee, Southeast Kentucky and Western North Carolina. The medical center, the region’s only Level I Trauma Center, is one of the largest employers in Knoxville. For more information about the University of Tennessee Medical Center, visit online at www.utmedicalcenter.org.