As soon as I stepped off the escalator at Chicago’s McCormick Place, I was swept up by a sea of suits. The sound of clattering heels echoed against the din of a thousand simultaneous conversations. After giving my inner introvert a moment to adjust, I inhaled and surrendered to the beautiful chaos of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO 2015) Conference.

From May 28 – June 2, 2015, a melting pot of doctors, researchers, non profit leaders, pharmaceutical partners and health care professionals descended on the city of Chicago. We spilled in and out of research presentations, through vast exhibit halls, onto shuttle buses, and then gathered in hotel lobbies, restaurants, and even the Shedd Aquarium where we exchanged stories amidst giant tanks filled with fish and sea urchins.

Thanks to the Conquer Cancer Foundation (CCF) Patient Advocate Scholarship Program and to the generous support of Lilly, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, the Patient Access Network Foundation, Takeda Oncology, Teva Oncology, and the Conquer Cancer Foundation Mission Endowment, I had the opportunity to be one of 37,000 people united in the fight against cancer.

As Patient Advocates, we gathered to better understand the latest research while also opening the door to more collaboration across the industry. To see a full overview of the conference, visit: ASCO Daily News 2015. Or check out some of my favourite highlights: New Immunotherapy Breakthroughs, Moving Survivorship Care Forward and How Oncologists Can Better Support Family Caregivers.

Even with all of the breakthroughs, there is still so much to be done! With 18 million cancer survivors projected by the year 2022, we need to do more to ensure quality of life for people living with or beyond cancer. We need to look at not only ‘curing’ people, but also healing them. At bridging the divide between disease and meaningful life, no matter what the prognosis is. Thankfully, we are not alone in our desire to do more. Here are just a few of the fantastic Patient Advocate organizations represented at ASCO: Lungevity, Critical Mass, The Sam Fund, Triage Cancer, the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation, CLOUD, Men Against Breast Cancer, SHARE, the Metastatic Breast Cancer Alliance.

Spotlight on Sam Watson of the SamFund

Our tribe loves people with big dreams and today I’m excited to introduce you to Sam Watson and the non profit she founded: The SamFund (Surviving and Moving Forward). The work of the SamFund transforms lives. “Through direct financial assistance as well as online support, The SAMFund gives young adult survivors the tools and resources to overcome their financial challenges and move forward with their lives. Since 2005, we’ve awarded $1,350,000 in grants to hundreds of young adults across the country and hosted free Webinars on a range of topics including reducing medical debt, family building options and employment challenges, among others.” ~www.thesamfund.org

And here is what one of their beneficiaries had to say:

“This grant from The SAMFund adds momentum to those small steps that I need to take toward full independence.
A SAMFund grant says, ‘We believe in you. We just want to give you a little push.’
I’m ever grateful that I have been given the opportunity to rebuild my life with that push.”
Jennifer D.

Meeting people like Sam reminds me that each of us has a calling and the opportunity to make a difference. In a world as complex as cancer, no person or organization can be everything to everyone, but together we can change the paradigm and transform lives. Here is an excerpt from Sam’s blog about ASCO and a little more about how #cancerisntfree.

“Hands down, though, the most exciting part of being at ASCO was hearing – and participating in – the many conversations about financial toxicity and cancer. The issue of the cost of cancer was highlighted in this morning’s ASCO Daily News, so I’m equally glad to see these conversations continuing even though the conference itself is over.

All of this was a reminder that our work matters. In talking about the financial burden of a cancer diagnosis, it’s so important to bring the AYA voice to the conversation. Yes, cancer is expensive. Yes, the medical bills pile up and the bill collectors start calling and patients find themselves on the verge of bankruptcy. And yes, health insurance costs are astronomical and co-pays are ongoing and other side effects are lingering. Our job is to raise awareness of how much harder these issues become when you’re a young adult just starting out your life.

Until we can collectively figure out how to make this better, we’ll keep pushing the issue into the spotlight and will continue to share the stories of the people behind the statistics. We are excited and proud to be part of this conversation and committed to keeping the momentum going.”

Thank you Sam for the work you and your team do to help young adults address the financial fallout of cancer and thank you to ASCO and the Conquer Cancer Foundation for the opportunity to be one of 37,000.