Dear Sirs and Madams,
I strongly believe there is so much to do, to "Be Faster Than Cancer", and we can only do it if we are "one" strong voice. Our own non-profit organization showed us how millions can be reached if patients, care givers and family members can get together. I am hoping to bring the same "sense of existence" to ESGO ENGAGe, with being able to share our experiences, and learn from others. My willingness to serve is fed by my passion of "making a difference". Thank you for your consideration.
Esra Urkmez
President, Dance With Cancer, DBA Kanserle Dans - New York, USA
Es Kurucu, Yonetim Kurulu Uyesi, Kanserle Dans, Istanbul Turkiye
Esra Urkmez is the President and Co-Founder of Dance With Cancer New York, USA; Co-Founder and Board
Member of Kanserle Dans NGO Istanbul, Turkey; Senior Production Manager for ASICS and US Angels Clothing lines
New York, USA; Member of Board Of Directors of Rotary Club of New York.
After studying 6 Years in Private French High School Notre Dame de Sion, she graduated from Beloit High School in
Kansas, USA as a Rotary Exchange Student. She finished University with Economics degree in Istanbul, and finished her MBA in Marketing in Long Island University, USA.
After losing her father to Pancreatic Cancer in January 2012, she founded a blog and a Facebook page with her high school friend Ebru Tontas in April 2012. Kanserle Dans formed in New York, February 2013 and as Non- Profit
Organization in Istanbul, May 2013. Today, its Facebook page itself alone reaches average of 2,800,000 Turkish speaking patients and their families each month.

Esra Ürkmez ve Ebru Tontas, 2 high schools friends whose fathers were diagnosed with cancer, created the
"Kanserle Dans" blog and a thriving social media patient support community in April 2012. The goal has been to offer research-based information about treatment modalities, new research, side effects, and provide a psychosocial support platform for those where accessibility had previously been deficient. With their social media and blog followers reaching thousands, they decided to become a non-profit to extend the realm of their services; hence "Kanserle Dans-Dance with Cancer" was born on May 2013 in Turkey. Since then, Kanserle Dans became one of Turkey’s most popular online cancer information and support platform. The group’s Facebook pages have over
67,000 fans; thousands follow the organization on Twitter and Instagram; and weekly webinars on topics such as treatments, tests, managing side effects, psychology, and legal issues have attracted millions of viewers. The
Facebook page itself organically reaches approximately 2,800,000 viewers each month. It also has a closed group of 18,000 people; patients, care givers, patient families.
Kanserle Dans is writing its name in international cancer society with few projects inline:
With funding from Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) through a Seeding Progress and Resources for the
Cancer Community (SPARC) grant, we built a suite of digital services for Turkish mBC patients, caregivers and families, centered around MET MEME smartphone application. We are a unique full-service community and socialsupport network for mBC patients in Turkey including a video library featuring over 50 videos on topics including mBC clinical trials, end-of-life issues; and an mBC-specific Facebook group.
American Cancer Society and Kanserle Dans will also partner in 2017 for a Patient Navigation Project. ACS is already testing the first one of its kind in Kenya and we will be transforming the existing project into Turkish patient/caregiver’s culture and needs.