Oct. 1986: Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, a co-founder of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (center), leads the NCCS founding meeting.
It is as if we have invented sophisticated techniques to save people from drowning, but once they have been pulled from the water, we leave them on the dock to cough and splutter on their own in the belief that we have done all that we can.
— Dr. Fitzhugh Mullan, from his 1985 essay “Seasons of Survival: Reflections of a Physician with Cancer”
NCCS Founding President Fitzhugh Mullan, MD and Ellen Stovall, who led NCCS as CEO from 1992 to 2008.
In 1986, the founders of NCCS set out to establish an organization that would replace the words “cancer victim” with “cancer survivor,” and bring about a different notion of the cancer experience. The founders envisioned an organization that would deal with the full spectrum of survivorship issues related to living with, through and beyond a cancer diagnosis.
Founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, NCCS’s diverse leadership included some of the most recognized experts on employment and disability law, health care consumerism and psychosocial and behavioral research. Consequently, NCCS quickly developed a reputation as the “go to” organization for how to deal with the physiological, psychosocial, economic and spiritual issues that accompany a cancer diagnosis. The informed patient was — and still is — at the heart of NCCS’s mission. NCCS began its work by contributing to the literature and evidence base for quality cancer care. NCCS’s first publication dealt with doctor/patient communications, followed by publications on survivors’ rights and how to be an informed and knowledgeable health care consumer.
NCCS’s definition of a survivor, from the time of diagnosis and for the balance of life, is now the norm for the cancer community and beyond. NCCS has expanded its definition of survivor to include family, friends, and caregivers.
In 1992, NCCS relocated its offices to Washington, D.C. to be closer to the organizations and institutions that play a role in educating government agencies and policymakers about the need for quality cancer care throughout the survivorship continuum. Since that time, we have remained in the Washington, DC area and continued to advocate for the nearly 18.1 million cancer survivors living in the United States.
From Shadows to Life is the story of 23 ordinary people, all with a connection to cancer, who founded NCCS and gave birth to a social movement that continues to improve life for millions. Part medical history, part inspirational group biography, this book leaves literary breadcrumbs for the millions who follow this path.
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Founder
Northeast Regional Cancer Institute
“Perhaps one of the most impactful collaborations in Dr. Brereton’s extraordinary career remains his early work and long friendship with Ellen Stovall. Through him, and in turn through the thousands of lives he has touched, Ellen’s work continues, and her mission lives on.”
—Karen M. Saunders
President, Northeast Regional Cancer Institute