In light of current developments with regard to COVID-19, the International Symposium on Malignant Mesothelioma previously scheduled for April 6 and 7 in San Antonio, Texas, will be rescheduled. This decision comes after careful deliberation and consultation with experts in the medical field who focus on the care of mesothelioma patients, as well as a review of new information released today regarding the risk to patients with thoracic malignancies.
As you are all well aware, our patient population is at the highest risk for complications from a possible infection with this virus so this course of action seems most responsible. Moreover, in consulting with physicians who treat mesothelioma patients, we learned that some institutions have begun banning work related travel. Other physicians at institutions without bans are nevertheless uneasy about travel because of the risk of spreading infection upon return to their patients in their daily work.
We are currently working with the hotel to reschedule the conference and will release the new dates as soon as they become available.
Below we will highlight what this means for registrants regarding registration, hotel reservation and airfare.
Registration
If you have registered for the San Antonio Symposium, you can choose whether you’d like a full refund of your registration or if you’d like to apply your registration fee toward the rescheduled conference. Since we don’t yet have the rescheduled dates, feel free to wait to take any action regarding registration until the new dates become available. If you don’t plan on attending our next conference, and don’t wish to obtain a refund, your registration will be converted to a donation. Please email [email protected] or call 703-879-3797 to let us know how to proceed.
If you have not registered, a new registration option will be available soon.
Hotel Reservation
If you have booked your hotel accommodations, please contact the Hyatt Regency San Antonio Riverwalk at your earliest convenience to cancel your reservation. The hotel has a cancellation policy of 48 hours prior to arrival date to avoid a one-night charge.
Airfare
Depending upon when you purchased your airfare and which airline, here are your options (as of March 3, 2020). As this is an evolving situation the airline policies will continue to adjust to accommodate travelers. We suggest that you check in with them regularly if not being settled to your satisfaction. Please contact your airline for full details.
- Waiving change fees for customers purchasing travel between March 1-16
- Peace of mind waiver for customers who have purchased tickets from Feb. 27 through March 12 as well as allow customers to bank any travel costs associated with canceled tickets for a future trip that is completed by December 31, 2020.
- Suspending change and cancel fees for new flights booked from Feb. 27 through March 11. The policy runs through June 1.
- Offering one-time change with no fees for customers whose plans included Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul and all locations in Italy through April 30.
- Offering refunds for flights purchased to Wuhan, China from Jan. 22 through March 29 as well waiving the change fee for travel to mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea and northern Italy through June 30.
- No change fees or cancellation fees.
The Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation is the only 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to eradicate mesothelioma and end this national tragedy. Its programs include the funding of promising and peer-reviewed research, education, support and advocacy. The organization strives to bring together thought-leaders in the field to identify the most direct path to a cure.
