Dozens of families gather in Kansas City on National Cancer Survivors Day

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On Sunday, June 1, hundreds of cancer survivors and their families gathered at the Gilda’s Club Kansas City for National Cancer Survivors Day.

National Cancer Survivors Day is a nationwide celebration that gives cancer survivors the opportunity to meet with other survivors, nonprofits and community groups.

In Kansas City, survivors celebrated in the Gilda’s Club parking lot off 43rd and Mill Creek Pkwy. Over a dozen organizations set up booths, each one offering a unique set of resources and .

Steve Hentzen is a co-founder of the Prostate Network and set up a booth towards the front of the celebration. Hentzen was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2010 and said a routine check-up at the doctor’s office saved his life.

“Because of that physical, my prostate cancer was caught, and it’s the only reason I’m standing here today,” Hentzen said. “Cancer is a horrible thing, but you can turn a negative into a positive. You’ve got all these people that had a horrible diagnosis, but yet survived it, and now they are here helping people.”

In 2024, the American Cancer Society estimated that more than 2 million new cases of cancer will be recorded - with 39,120 of them in Missouri and 16,640 in Kansas.

You can learn more about the Gilda’s Club and its cancer resources here.

The first National Cancer Survivors Day was observed in 1988.

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