Cancer Nation Policy Roundtable
Spring 2026
March 18, 2026 | 8:30 AM ET – 3:30 PM ET
Marriott Marquis – Washington, DC
From the Fall 2025 Roundtable — Left: Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD; Center: Nikki Hayes, Ellen Lukens, and Kalah Auchincloss discuss federal cuts with CEO Shelley Fuld Nasso; Right: Head-and-neck cancer survivor Tom Warren shares his perspective. (Photos by Leslie Kossoff/LK Photos)
For 26 years, the Cancer Nation Policy Roundtable has convened survivors, advocates, policymakers, and leaders in cancer care to discuss policies that affect access, affordability, quality, and innovation. The conversations ensure the experiences of people living with, through, and beyond cancer are central to shaping better cancer care.
This March, we are excited to host another series of discussions about pressing issues in cancer policy.
What to expect at the Spring 2026 Cancer Nation Policy Roundtable:
- A conversation with Dr. Richard Pazdur, who recently left the FDA after a distinguished career of public service.
- A fireside chat with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
- A panel about the emerging health coverage crisis.
- Dr. Mark McClellan will present about payment reform in cancer care.
- The survivor’s perspective from ovarian cancer survivor Rev. Loris Adams, MDiv.
- A discussion about AI in cancer care — the potential and the trust gap among patients.
Meeting Agenda
Note: All times Eastern. Session times subject to change.
- 8:30 AM – Registration and Coffee
- 9:15 AM – Welcome & Opening Remarks
-
9:30 AM – Falling Through the Cracks: Insurance Changes and the New Coverage Crisis
Recent policy changes are reshaping who can afford health care and who is left without it. From Medicaid rollbacks and the expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) enhanced premium tax credits, to proposed changes to ACA plans and rising costs in employer-sponsored insurance, millions more Americans are at risk of losing coverage. For cancer survivors, gaps in insurance mean higher bills, delayed care, interrupted treatment, and long-term harm. This panel breaks down what’s changed, how many people are expected to lose coverage, and what options survivors have when insurance disappears.
- Sabrina Corlette, JD
Center on Health Insurance Reforms, Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy - Katie Keith, JD
Center for Health Policy and the Law, Georgetown University Law Center - Kaye Pestaina, JD
Program on Patient and Consumer Protections, KFF - Austin Welter
Legislative Director, Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01)
- Sabrina Corlette, JD
- 10:30 AM – Break
-
10:45 AM – Reforming Payment to Support Quality Cancer Care
- Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
Duke Margolis Institute for Health Policy
- Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
- 11:30 AM – Break
-
11:45 AM – Fireside Chat
- Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL)
- 12:15 PM – Lunch
- 12:45 PM – Survivor Perspective
- The Rev. Loris Adams, MDiv
Ovarian Cancer Survivor
- The Rev. Loris Adams, MDiv
-
1:30 PM – AI in Cancer Care: What Patients Deserve to Know
AI has the potential to improve cancer care—but only if it’s used responsibly. This panel brings together experts and advocates to talk about what transparency really looks like, why patient education matters, and how we guard against errors and bias in AI systems. Our 2025 Cancer Nation Survivorship Survey shows that while many patients are comfortable with AI handling administrative tasks, far fewer feel comfortable with AI being used for clinical decisions—underscoring a real trust gap we can’t ignore. We’ll focus on the core question: how do we make sure technology serves people, not the other way around?
- Danielle S. Bitterman, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Steve Brown
Founder & CEO, CureWise - Sara Fleszar-Pavlović, PhD
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Danielle S. Bitterman, MD
- 2:30 PM – Honoring the Service of Dr. Richard Pazdur
- Richard Pazdur, MD
Former Director, Center for Drug Evaluation & Research
Founding Director, Oncology Center of Excellence - In conversation with Otis Brawley, MD
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Board Member, Cancer Nation
- Richard Pazdur, MD
Background Reading
To help you prepare for the meeting, we have assembled some background reading material about the topics that will be covered in the sessions, including:
- Falling Through the Cracks: Insurance Changes and the New Coverage Crisis
- Reforming Payment to Support Quality Cancer Care
- AI in Cancer Care: What Patients Deserve to Know
- Honoring the Service of Dr. Richard Pazdur
Speaker Biographies
Rev. Loris N. AdamsDanielle BittermanOtis BrawleySabrina CorletteSara Fleszar-PavlovicKatie KeithMark McClellanRichard PazdurKaye PestainaDebbie Wasserman SchultzAustin Welter
Rev. Loris N. Adams, MDiv
President, BMB Coaching & Consulting, Head of DEI and Ethical Leadership at the National Cathedral School for Girls
BMB Coaching, National Cathedral School
Rev. Loris Adams is a woman of deep faith, compassion, and purpose. She serves as President of BMB Coaching & Consulting, a firm grounded in the belief that each of us is called to “Be More”—more loving, more present, more whole. Through her work as the inaugural Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and Director of the Center for Ethical Leadership & Service at National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington, D.C., Rev. Adams guides students and educators in living lives of integrity, service, and global compassion.
She is an iPEC-certified coach with 18 years of experience as an educator, dean, senior administrator, and DEI leader.
Loris’s ministry of healing and faith is not just professional—it is deeply personal. She is surviving ovarian cancer, a journey that has transformed her understanding of grace, resilience, and divine presence.
She also carries in her heart the memory of her mother and grandmother, who both passed from pancreatic cancer, and her stepfather, who lost his battle with lung cancer. Through their lives and legacies, she learned that love endures beyond the body and that faith can hold what words cannot. She has witnessed both the ache and the awe of God’s presence in moments of suffering and grace. Those experiences have deepened her belief that healing is not only of the body, but of the soul.
Danielle Bitterman
Assistant Professor
Harvard Medical School, Mass General Brigham
Dr. Danielle Bitterman is an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School, whose research is dedicated to developing and implementing AI advances for data-driven cancer care. She is a physician-scientist and Clinical Lead for Data Science/AI at Mass General Brigham Digital, and a practicing radiation oncologist in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Dana-Farber Cancer. Dr. Bitterman’s lab uses natural language processing to transform the medical records into systems that actively data-driven care of patients with cancer. Her expertise includes language model evaluation and oversight, computational phenotyping of the electronic health records, and translational studies of AI in the clinic. Dr. Bitterman’s research has been published in high-impact journals and conference proceedings, including Nature Medicine, Lancet Digital Health, the Journal of Clinical Oncology, NeurIPS, and EMNLP. Her research is funded by the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the American Society for Radiation Oncology, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, and Harvard Catalyst. Her research has been featured by The New York Times, Bloomberg, Harvard Gazette, STAT, and Politico.
Dr. Bitterman received her undergraduate degree at Columbia University, and attended medical school at New York University School of Medicine. She completed an internship in internal medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and her residency at the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program. She completed her post-doctoral fellowship in natural language processing at the Computational Health Informatics Program at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Otis Brawley, MD
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University
Board Member, Cancer Nation
Otis W. Brawley, MD is a globally recognized expert in cancer prevention and control. He has worked to reduce over-screening of medical conditions, which has revolutionized patient treatment by increasing quality of life and reducing health disparities.
Dr. Brawley’s research focuses on developing cancer screening strategies and ensuring their effectiveness. He has championed efforts to decrease smoking and implement other lifestyle risk reduction programs, as well as to provide critical support to cancer patients and concentrate cancer control efforts in areas where they could be most effective. Dr. Brawley currently leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort on cancer health disparities at the Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, striving to close racial, economic, and social disparities in the prevention, detection, and treatment of cancer in the United States and worldwide. He also directs community outreach programs for underserved populations throughout Maryland.
Dr. Brawley joined Johns Hopkins University as a Bloomberg Distinguished Professor in 2019 from the American Cancer Society and Emory University.
Sabrina Corlette, JD
Research Professor
Georgetown University
Sabrina Corlette, J.D. is a research professor, founder, and co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms (CHIR) at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy. At CHIR she directs research on health reform issues, with a focus on state and federal regulation of private health insurance. She provides expertise and strategic advice to individuals and organizations on health insurance laws and programs and provides technical support to government officials and stakeholders through the publication of resource guides, white papers, issue briefs, blog posts and fact sheets. She has testified numerous times before the U.S. Congress and is frequently quoted in the news media on emerging health care issues. She has published dozens of papers relating to the regulation health insurance and health care markets.
Prior to joining the Georgetown faculty, Ms. Corlette was Director of Health Policy Programs at the National Partnership for Women & Families, where she provided policy expertise and direction for the organization’s advocacy on health care reform. From 1997 to 2001, Ms. Corlette worked for the U.S. Senate Health Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, where she served as health legislative assistant to Senator Tom Harkin. After leaving the Hill, Ms. Corlette served as an attorney at the law firm Hogan Lovells, where she advised clients on health care law and policy.
Ms. Corlette is a member of the D.C. Bar and received her J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas at Austin and her undergraduate degree with honors from Harvard University.
Sara Fleszar-Pavlovic, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Sara Fleszar-Pavlovic is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Medical Oncology, at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She also serves as Research Operations Lead for the Survivorship and Supportive Care Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. She earned her PhD in Health Psychology from the University of California, Merced, and completed a two-year National Cancer Institute funded T32 postdoctoral fellowship in the Training to Reduce Burden across the Cancer Control Continuum (TRECC) program at Sylvester. Dr. Fleszar-Pavlovic’s research examines ways to improve quality of life and patient reported and clinical outcomes across the cancer care continuum. She uses theory driven approaches to design and evaluate supportive care interventions emphasizing culturally relevant and scalable solutions for Hispanic and older adult cancer survivors, addressing challenges linked to survivorship, multimorbidity, and aging related changes in physical and psychosocial well-being. Her most recent efforts involve integrating agentic artificial intelligence (AI) platforms capable of delivering guideline concordant and adaptive supportive care interventions. Her scientific contributions were recently recognized with the 2024 Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Outstanding Population Science Early Stage Researcher of the Year award.
Katie Keith, JD, MPH
Director, Center for Health Policy and the Law
O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown Law
Katie Keith, JD, MPH is the founding director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law and Director for National Affairs and Programs at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law. Katie oversees the Center’s work on demystifying the important role that litigation and the courts play in health policy and studies health policy legal issues with an emphasis on access, affordability, transparency, and equity. Katie returned to the O’Neill Institute in 2025 after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of the first-ever White House Gender Policy Council where she led the Biden-Harris Administration’s work on reproductive rights, women’s health research, women’s economic security, and gender-based violence. Katie is a contributing editor of Health Affairs and a lead contributor of rapid response analysis for the “Health Policy at a Crossroads” series where she provides widely acclaimed and relied-on analysis of health policy issues.
Mark McClellan, MD, PhD
Director
Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy
Mark McClellan, MD, PhD, is director of the Engelberg Center for Health Care Reform and Leonard D. Schaeffer Chair in Health Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution. Dr. McClellan’s work at the Engelberg Center focuses on promoting high-quality, innovative, and affordable health care. A doctor and economist by training, he also has a highly distinguished record in public service and in academic research. Dr. McClellan is a former administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), where he developed and implemented major reforms in health policy. These include the Medicare prescription drug benefit, FDA’s Critical Path Initiative, and public-private initiatives to develop better information on the quality and cost of care. Dr. McClellan chairs the Reagan-Udall Foundation, is co-chair of the Quality Alliance Steering Committee, sits on the National Quality Forum’s Board of Directors, is a member of the Institute of Medicine, and is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. He previously served as a member of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers and senior director for health care policy at the White House and was an associate professor of economics and medicine at Stanford University.
Richard Pazdur, MD
Richard Pazdur, MD
Former Director, Center for Drug Evaluation & Research
Founding Director, Oncology Center of Excellence
Dr. Richard Pazdur, M.D. is a nationally recognized leader in oncology drug development and regulatory science who spent more than two decades shaping the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approach to cancer therapies. He previously served as Director of the FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence (OCE) and Director of the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER), where he oversaw the review and approval of new and generic drugs to ensure their safety, effectiveness, and quality for the American public.
Dr. Pazdur joined the FDA in 1999 as Director of the Division of Oncology Drug Products and later led the Office of Hematology and Oncology Products (OHOP) in 2005, consolidating the review of cancer and hematologic therapies. Under his leadership, the Oncology Center of Excellence was established in 2017 to coordinate expertise across drugs, biologics, and medical devices, accelerating the development and review of innovative cancer treatments. His work helped modernize oncology drug regulation and strengthened collaboration between the FDA, the National Cancer Institute, and the broader cancer research community.
Before joining the FDA, Dr. Pazdur served as Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and held faculty positions at Wayne State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University, his M.D. from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, and completed clinical training in Chicago.
A prolific author, Dr. Pazdur published hundreds of scientific articles and textbooks and received numerous honors for public service and leadership in cancer care and drug development.
Kaye Pestaina, JD
Director, Program on Patient and Consumer Protection
KFF
Kaye is the Director of KFF’s (formerly Kaiser Family Foundation) Program on Patient and Consumer Protection that provides information and policy and data analysis examining what individuals face as they navigate the health care system. The program has a special focus on individuals with serious or chronic illness who have health insurance and encounter challenges in using it to get affordable quality care.
Prior to joining KFF, she was Principal at Mercer Government, and before that, Mercer’s Law and Policy Group. At Mercer Government she worked with government clients to design and implement healthcare programs. In Mercer’s Law and Policy Group she worked with private and public employer health plan clients to implement federal private insurance coverage reforms such as the Affordable Care Act, HIPAA privacy and security, and mental health parity, as well as state law protections.
Prior to joining Mercer, Kaye worked in senior roles in the federal government implementing provisions of the Affordable Care Act that impact private health coverage—first at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services, and then in the Healthcare and Insurance office at the Office of Personnel Management.
Kaye was also Vice President at the Segal Company where she worked with public sector, union, and corporate clients on healthcare compliance matters. She was also an attorney in the Employee Benefits Security Administration at the U.S. Labor Department, where she developed and analyzed regulatory and legislative proposals on employee health benefits.
Prior to that she was a trial attorney enforcing provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and before that, a litigation associate at DLA Piper.
She received her bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Congresswoman, U.S. House of Representatives
Debbie Wasserman Schultz has dedicated her public life to serving South Floridians and standing up for justice, equality, and opportunity wherever and whenever it is threatened. As Florida’s first Jewish Congresswoman, she has earned the respect of her colleagues for working tirelessly on behalf of seniors, children, and families for nearly three decades.
First sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2005, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz previously served in the Florida House of Representatives and Florida Senate where she originally displayed her philosophy that there is “no task too small, and no goal too big.”
Only two months after her arrival in Congress, Wasserman Schultz became a leading national voice in opposition to President George W. Bush’s involvement in the Terri Schiavo case. Facing a House of Representatives controlled by Republicans, she stood up for civil rights and defended the idea that “Congress is not the appropriate venue to decide end-of-life or any private, personal family dispute.”
Known for vigorously defending her progressive values, the Congresswoman has also demonstrated her ability to pass meaningful legislation in a bipartisan fashion. She teamed up with former Republican Senator Arlen Specter to write a resolution – passed unanimously by both houses of Congress and signed by President Bush – to declare May as Jewish American Heritage Month in an effort to reduce anti-Semitism, hate, and bigotry.
As a mother of three, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz has worked to prioritize the safety and security of our nation’s youth. She authored the first federal pool and spa safety legislation – the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. Since its passage in 2007, there have been no drain entrapment deaths in any public pools in the United States. That same year, she sponsored the PROTECT Our Children Act, which created the largest law enforcement effort ever formed for the protection of our nation’s youth.
After announcing her own battle with breast cancer in 2009, Wasserman Schultz introduced the EARLY Act, a piece of legislation designed to increase breast cancer education and awareness. The EARLY Act became law as part of the Affordable Care Act, signed by President Barack Obama in 2010. Wasserman Schultz also worked with Republican Congresswoman Renee Elmers to write and pass the PALS Act, which helps increase young women’s access to mammograms.
A leading advocate for women and girls, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz introduced the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act to encourage more states to allow women to terminate the parental rights of a rapist, based on clear and convincing evidence. The bill was signed into law by President Obama in 2015.
Currently Wasserman Schultz serves as a Ranking Member on the Appropriations Committee. In the 117th Congress, she made history as the first-ever woman to Chair the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee. As Ranking Member, she is committed to ensuring our nation’s veterans have the resources and support they need. In addition, she serves on the Agriculture Subcommittee, as well as the Energy and Water Subcommittee, where Wasserman Schultz is a leading advocate of the efforts to protect the Florida Everglades, take bold action on climate change, and safeguard our air and water.
Now in the 119th Congress, Wasserman Schultz will maintain her leadership role as a Co-Chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, which is responsible for recommending candidates for election as Chair or Ranking Member of House Committees, nominating Democratic Members for their House committee assignments, and coordinating with the Democratic Leader in setting the Caucus policy agenda.
She has been a tireless defender of Social Security and Medicare and is strongly committed to expanding access to quality and affordable health care, preventing senseless tragedies of gun violence, and defending the fundamental idea that all Americans have the right to be treated equally under the law.
Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz attended the University of Florida where she served as president of the Student Senate and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science in 1988 and a Master’s Degree in 1990. She has been married to Steve Schultz for three decades and together they have three children.
Wasserman Schultz has said that representing the people of Florida’s 25th District is the greatest privilege of her professional life. A proud South Floridian who represents parts of Broward County, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz resides with her family in Weston.
Austin Welter
Legislative Director
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-01)
Austin Welter serves as Legislative Director for Mariannette Miller-Meeks in the U.S. House of Representatives. In this role, he oversees the Congresswoman’s legislative portfolio, guiding policy development and strategy across healthcare, budget, and regulatory issues before the Energy and Commerce Committee and other key committees of jurisdiction. He works closely with stakeholders, leadership offices, and committee staff to advance bipartisan solutions and support the Congresswoman’s priorities on lowering healthcare costs, strengthening rural access to care, and promoting innovation.
Registration Form
"*" indicates required fields
Please contact Nadine Dorvelus at ndorvelus@canceradvocacy.org with any questions you may have.
Cancer Nation Policy Roundtable Spring 2026 Sponsors
(as of 3/2/2026)
Premier
Supporting
