Add the Summit to your Calendar:
Google Calendar | iCal/Apple (.ics)
The Cancer Nation Summit is where our community comes together to connect, strengthen our voices, and shape the future of cancer care. This annual gathering is an opportunity to build advocacy skills, deepen policy knowledge, and stand united in our shared mission: improving the quality of cancer care for everyone living with, through, and beyond cancer.
At the Summit, participants will:
- Visit Capitol Hill to share their stories with elected officials and advocate for better cancer care policies.
- Learn about critical issues such as survivorship legislation, supportive care, patient-provider communication, and other priorities shaping cancer care today.
- Engage with medical students to bridge lived experience and clinical education.
- Connect with fellow advocates and the Cancer Nation team to strengthen community and collective action.
Registration for the 2026 Cancer Nation Summit is Closed.
Summit Agenda
Note: All times are Eastern Time.
Wednesday, June 24
| 2:00 PM | Registration and Networking |
| 2:30 PM | Opening Session
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP |
| 3:00 PM | Networking Activity |
| 3:30 PM | Hill Day Preparation
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP Andrea Hans Veronika Panagiotou, PhD Molly Burns Reed Powell |
| 5:15 PM | Advocacy Skills Breakouts and Networking
Telling your Story |
| 6:00 PM | Dinner by State |
Thursday, June 25
| 7:00 AM | Breakfast |
| 7:30 AM | Hill Day Kick-Off, Group Photo
Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) providing remarks Representative Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA) providing remarks Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) (invited) |
| 9:00 AM | Hill Meetings
Lunch on Your Own |
| 5:00 PM | Capitol Hill Debrief
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP Andrea Hans |
| 5:30 PM | Dinner |
| 6:30 PM | LET’S LAUGH!
Saranne Rothberg In this interactive session, you will learn how to think (and respond) funnier for stress management, overall well-being, innovation, and relationships. (Maybe some of these humor techniques could even be employed on The Hill!) |
Friday, June 26
| 8:30 AM | Breakfast |
| 9:00 AM | Together Through Grief: Honoring and Responding to Loss in Cancer
Joslyn Trovati, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C Join oncology therapist Joslyn Trovati for a compassionate conversation about the layered experiences of grief that can arise for anyone touched by cancer. |
| 10:15 AM | Break |
Friday, June 26 (Continued)
| 10:30 AM | Breath Break with Loris Adams
Rev. Loris N. Adams Join executive coach and healing practitioner Rev. Loris N. Adams for a powerful and restorative breathwork workshop rooted in trauma-informed practice. Designed with deep care, this session offers a nurturing space for participants to explore conscious breathing as a tool for grounding, emotional release, and nervous system regulation. Whether you are navigating personal healing, burnout, or simply seeking greater ease in your body, this breathwork journey gently supports the release of stored tension and invites calm, clarity, and connection. What to Expect:
*Note that the breathwork practice is holistic support and does not constitute medical advice.* |
| 11:00 AM | Beyond Treatment: Building a Whole Person Care Team That Works for You
Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH Tara Suntum, MD Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ Veronika Panagiotou, PhD Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP, CEO This session will explore what quality care looks like after active treatment ends — why coordination so often breaks down, how survivors are left to fill the gaps, and what it takes to build a care team that addresses the whole person. Panelists will include clinicians from medical oncology, primary care, and psychosocial support, alongside a survivor with lived experience navigating care across multiple providers. |
| 12:00 PM | Lunch |
| 1:00 PM | Partners in Progress: Building the Survivorship Research Agenda
Ashley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPH Nina Kadan-Lottick, MD, MSPH Youngjee Choi, MD, FACP Veronika Panagiotou, PhD |
| 1:45 PM | Farewell and Evaluations |
Summit Evaluation Form
Speaker Biographies
Rev. Loris N. AdamsAndrew BazemoreMolly BurnsYoungjee ChoiAndrea HansMaureen HennesseyKara KenanShelley Fuld Nasso, MPPVeronika PanagiotouSaranne RothbergAshley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPHTara SuntumJoslyn Trovati
Rev. Loris N. Adams
Owner/Operator
BMB Coaching and Consulting
Rev. Loris N. Adams 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 succumbed to 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.
Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President, Research & Policy
American Board of Family Medicine
Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH serves as the Senior Vice President of Research and Policy for the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). As Senior Vice President for Research and Policy, Dr. Bazemore is responsible for managing all ABFM research functions and staff, development and implementation of an enterprise-wide strategy for research, co-directing the new ABFM Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care in Washington DC, coordinating and developing an existing and expanding ABFM leadership/scholarship portfolio that includes ABFM Visiting Scholars & Fellowship, Pisacano Scholars & Puffer Fellowship programs, developing national and international collaborative research partnerships, and continuing to grow his own research in measures that matter for primary care, workforce & training, and access to primary health care for vulnerable populations.
Dr. Bazemore previously served for 7 years as the Director of the Robert Graham Center for Policy Studies in Family Medicine in Washington, DC, and as its Assistant Director for 7 years prior to that. Dr. Bazemore helped cultivate the growth and evolution of the Graham Center into an internationally-known primary care research center with diverse funding sources. He guided and participated in the Graham Center’s research with special interest in access to care for underserved populations, health workforce and training, and spatial analysis. Dr. Bazemore also led the Graham Center’s emphasis on developing tools that empower primary care providers, leaders, and policymakers. He developed HealthLandscape, an innovative data engagement platform entirely funded by grants and contracts, including the nearly $1.5 million/year federal Uniform Data System Mapper contract that guides funding for all the nation’s Federally Qualified Centers.
Dr. Bazemore has authored over 220 peer-reviewed publications and helped to create novel primary care policy thought and evidence conversations such as the Starfield Summit series, the Embassy Series and evolving Primary Care Forum Series on and around Capitol Hill. He has served in national leadership, board, and committee roles for Family Medicine for America’s Health, the North American Primary Care Research Group (NAPCRG), Society of Teachers of Family Medicine (STFM), the National Research Network, the Rural Training Track Consortium, the Beyond Flexner Alliance, WONCA, GHEC, the National Academies of Medicine, and the Council on Graduate Medical Education. He was elected as a member of the National Academies of Medicine in 2016 and named a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians last year.
Dr. Bazemore serves on the faculties of the Departments of Family Medicine at Georgetown University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and the University of Toronto. He continues to see a continuity panel of patients at Fairfax Family Practice Centers, and to offer regular global health service in rural Honduras and Guatemala under the banner of Shoulder to Shoulder. Dr. Bazemore previously served on faculty in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Cincinnati and as a Professorial Lecturer of Health Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health. Dr. Bazemore graduated from Davidson College, received his Doctor of Medicine from the University of North Carolina, and his MPH from Harvard University School of Public Health. He also completed a Global Health Fellowship at the University of Cincinnati, and is a Diplomate of the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene.
He and his wife Carolyn live in Northern Virginia, where they are privileged to raise four wonderful teenage children and enjoy rich hiking, biking, camping, cultural and viticultural opportunities.
Molly Burns
Legislative Assistant
Representative Debbie Dingell
Molly Burns is a Legislative Assistant for Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-06). She covers the Congresswoman’s healthcare portfolio, which includes her work as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health. She has worked for the Congresswoman for four years, and since taking on the healthcare portfolio has led on several pieces of key legislation, including the Advancing Access to Telehealth Act, Elijah E. Cummings Family Asthma Act, the PBM Reform Act, the HCBS Access Act, and the Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act. Molly also serves as the liason for the Bipartisan House Cancer Caucus, which the Congresswoman co-chairs with Reps. Fitzpatrick, Wasserman Schultz, and Kelly (R-PA). In her role as a Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Dingell works across the aisle to secure funding for cancer research, raise awareness and education around cancer prevention efforts, advance treatment and care, and support patients, survivors, and their families.
Youngjee Choi, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Choi is an associate professor in clinical medicine in the departments of medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her clinical, teaching, and research interests focus on the intersection of primary care and cancer. She is an internist who practices primary care and is the director of the Johns Hopkins Primary Care for Cancer Survivors clinic. Nationally she has served on the American Society of Clinical Oncology Survivorship Task Force and Clinical Practice and Innovations Committee, and currently is on the leadership team of the National Cancer Institute’s Interdisciplinary Network for Survivorship and Primary care Research and Education.
Andrea Hans
Public Policy Manager
Cancer Nation
Andrea Hans manages public policy at Cancer Nation. As an otherwise young healthy adult who found her own lump and was repeatedly told she was “too young,” her breast cancer diagnosis in 2021 served as a call to action. With a background in public health, Andrea has become an active voice in breast health policy and advocacy.
Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ
Senior Vice President, Director of Value Transformation
Precision AQ
Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ, is Senior Vice President, Director of Value Transformation at Precision AQ. In her current role, she leads transformation strategies that improve healthcare quality, engagement, and outcomes across medical and behavioral care for life science clients and foundations.
A nationally recognized healthcare quality and population health strategist, Dr. Hennessey brings more than 30 years of experience as an executive, clinician, academician, innovator, and coach in behavioral health, and integrated care fields. Under her leadership, organizations have earned recognition from eValue8, the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and the National Academy of Medicine for inventive telehealth strategies that improved patient safety and strengthened patient engagement.
Maureen has served on national quality committees for NCQA, URAC, PQA, and NQF, for which she chaired a technical expert panel on physical and behavioral health integration. She currently represents Precision AQ on NCQA’s Industry Council on Health Care Quality. She is a PharmaVoice 100 Honoree and DE&I Champion. She has published extensively on topics including oncology quality care, patient engagement, medication adherence, mental health, and care innovation.
As a licensed psychologist in two states with coaching and healthcare quality certificates, Maureen integrates professional expertise with her personal cancer experiences.
Kara Kenan
Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships
Cancer Nation
Kara Kenan, a 10-year breast cancer survivor, joined the Cancer Nation team in 2022 as our Marketing and Communications Manager. Kara has a master’s degree in English, Composition & Rhetoric and nearly 20 years’ experience in communications across the public and private sectors. Prior to joining Cancer Nation, Kara founded Going Beyond the Pink, a nonprofit organization supporting breast cancer survivors established as a result of her personal experience with stage-3 breast cancer. She also taught English at North Dakota State University for over a decade.
A decorated veteran, Kara served in the Air National Guard for 6-years, including a deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Her role in the military allowed her to support both Search & Rescue and Homeland Defense missions. She is the proud recipient of the Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Reserve Forces Meritorious Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and Defense of Liberty Service Medal, among others.
In addition to her work with Cancer Nation and Going Beyond the Pink, Kara serves on various cancer-related workgroups and committees with the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Cancer Society, Department of Defense Breast Cancer Research Program, Environmental Working Group, Toxic Action Center, University of North Carolina Wilmington, and Quality Enhancement for Nonprofit Organizations.
When she’s not working, Kara can be found dancing in the kitchen, spending time with her family, traveling, or learning about herbalism and homeopathic medicine.
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP
CEO
Cancer Nation
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP, is CEO of Cancer Nation—the voice of the 18 million Americans living with, through, and beyond cancer. Under her leadership, Cancer Nation (formerly the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship) pushes for bold policy change to ensure every survivor has the right to not just survive—but thrive. From Capitol Hill to cancer centers, Shelley elevates survivor voices and demands care that actually works for the people living it.
A defining part of her work is helping survivors and caregivers find their voice in the democratic process—whether it’s their first visit to Capitol Hill or telling their story to someone in power. Through advocacy training and deep community-building, she empowers people to speak out, be heard, and help shape the policies that shape their lives.
Before joining Cancer Nation in 2013, she led public policy initiatives at Susan G. Komen. She holds degrees from Rice University and the Harvard Kennedy School. Shelley’s advocacy is deeply personal—rooted in love for her friend Dr. Brent Whitworth, a compassionate physician who died of cancer at 43, and in solidarity with countless others in her life affected by cancer.
She lives in Maryland with her husband and three sons. When not pushing for a cure for care, she’s likely found on a paddleboard, in a yoga class, or solving a crossword.
Veronika Panagiotou, PhD
Director of Advocacy and Programs
Cancer Nation
Veronika Panagiotou, PhD, knows firsthand what it means to live with, through, and beyond cancer. Diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma just days after her 25th birthday, she has spent the 13 years since turning that experience into fuel for systemic change, guiding survivors and caregivers in how to tell their stories and demand the quality care they deserve.
Before joining Cancer Nation as a staff member, Veronika was an active Cancer Nation Advocate herself, meeting with her representatives to advocate for policies like the Affordable Care Act, which gave her access to life-saving cancer treatment. She serves as Director of Advocacy and Programs supporting more than 1,200 advocates through the Cancer Nation Advocates program and educating them on the most pressing policy issues facing quality cancer care. In 2024, Dr. Panagiotou was named to the 40 Under 40 in Cancer, a recognition of her leadership and impact in cancer advocacy.
Dr. Panagiotou has presented nationally and internationally on cancer survivorship, food insecurity, human centered design, and civic engagement. She is a published author of various articles and abstracts in various oncology focused journals. She serves as a peer reviewer of research proposals and sits on multiple research advisory boards. She holds a doctorate in Community Engagement from Point Park University.
Saranne Rothberg
The ComedyCures Foundation
Stage IV cancer survivor, researcher, and advocate Saranne Rothberg, will help you develop your comic perspective and laugh more. Saranne threw her first “Chemo Comedy Party” in 1999 from her chemo chair in NYC. Defying her terminal prognosis for decades, Saranne is still cancer-free, bringing her “tumor humor”, live ComedyCures events, and the “Beating Cancer Daily” podcast to patients and survivors in 149 countries with 425+ original daily episodes. Saranne’s “Mindset and Metastatic Cancer Research Study” is considered the first funded AI-informed mental health and cancer survivorship study (2019). She was also a pivotal contributor to Dr. Turner’s “Radical Remission” series. Oprah named Saranne as her hero in 2005.
Ashley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPH, is Chief of the Outcomes Research Branch (ORB) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). ORB supports investigations to understand and improve health outcomes and quality care for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and families, across all populations. Dr. Smith carries out the mission of ORB by supporting research designed to integrate the perspectives of cancer patients/survivors across the life course, as well as their caregivers and family members, and to integrate those perspectives into healthcare settings with a goal to optimize patient engagement, care quality, health and well-being. Dr. Smith and her Branch have worked in alignment and partnership with the NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) for more than 20 years. She is currently on the Steering Committee at the helm of NCI’s OCS where she is committed to continuing and extending support of survivorship science at NCI.
Tara Suntum, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric, Adolescent & Young Adult Hematology and Oncology
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Dr. Tara Suntum is trained in both internal medicine and pediatrics and treats children, adolescents, and young adults with blood disorders and cancer. Areas of clinical expertise include cancer survivorship, adolescent and young adult (AYA) care, and sarcoma. She is Director of the AYA program at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital (MGUH) and leads the pediatric and AYA cancer survivorship program. She has developed a registry database for pediatric and AYA cancer survivors across the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center to facilitate clinical research. She has studied loss to follow-up among pediatric and AYA cancer survivors with an interest in understanding the impact of social determinants of health on follow-up care as a cancer survivor. She has also worked with investigators at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to understand the association of chronic health condition burden and financial hardship in childhood cancer survivors in the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) cohort.
Joslyn Trovati, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
Oncology Behavioral Therapist
Inova Life With Cancer
Joslyn Trovati, MSW, LSCW, OSW-C is a Behavioral Health Therapist at Inova Peterson Life With Cancer in Fairfax, VA, where she provides therapeutic support to people with cancer and their caregivers. Whether managing the physical and emotional toll of active treatment, adjusting to post-treatment survivorship, or navigating cancer recurrence or spread, Joslyn is honored to walk alongside patients and caregivers at any point in their illness course.
Prior to starting at Inova, Joslyn was an Oncology Social Worker at GW Cancer Center in Washington, DC and at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center – Jefferson Health in Philadelphia, PA. Joslyn is a licensed clinical social worker in Virginia and the District of Columbia, and she is also a Certified Oncology Social Worker (OSW-C). She received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from The George Washington University and her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Pennsylvania. Joslyn recently earned a Post-Graduate Certificate in Palliative and End-of-Life Care from the Zelda Foster Studies Program at the New York University Silver School of Social Work.
Joslyn’s clinical interests include palliative care, grief, adolescents and young adults (AYAs), and fertility preservation. She has presented at local and national conferences on social determinants of health (SDOH) and the psychosocial needs of AYAs with cancer.
Joslyn enjoys traveling, reading, live music, warm weather strolls through her local wildlife preserve, all things Italian and Japanese food, and playing her daily New York Times word games.
Rev. Loris N. AdamsAndrew BazemoreMolly BurnsYoungjee ChoiAndrea HansMaureen HennesseyKara KenanShelley Fuld Nasso, MPPVeronika PanagiotouSaranne RothbergAshley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPHTara SuntumJoslyn Trovati
Rev. Loris N. Adams
Owner/Operator
BMB Coaching and Consulting
Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH
Senior Vice President, Research & Policy
American Board of Family Medicine
Molly Burns
Legislative Assistant
Representative Debbie Dingell
Molly Burns is a Legislative Assistant for Representative Debbie Dingell (MI-06). She covers the Congresswoman’s healthcare portfolio, which includes her work as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee on Health. She has worked for the Congresswoman for four years, and since taking on the healthcare portfolio has led on several pieces of key legislation, including the Advancing Access to Telehealth Act, Elijah E. Cummings Family Asthma Act, the PBM Reform Act, the HCBS Access Act, and the Long-Term Care Workforce Support Act. Molly also serves as the liason for the Bipartisan House Cancer Caucus, which the Congresswoman co-chairs with Reps. Fitzpatrick, Wasserman Schultz, and Kelly (R-PA). In her role as a Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Dingell works across the aisle to secure funding for cancer research, raise awareness and education around cancer prevention efforts, advance treatment and care, and support patients, survivors, and their families.
Youngjee Choi, MD, FACP
Associate Professor of Medicine and Oncology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Dr. Choi is an associate professor in clinical medicine in the departments of medicine and oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Her clinical, teaching, and research interests focus on the intersection of primary care and cancer. She is an internist who practices primary care and is the director of the Johns Hopkins Primary Care for Cancer Survivors clinic. Nationally she has served on the American Society of Clinical Oncology Survivorship Task Force and Clinical Practice and Innovations Committee, and currently is on the leadership team of the National Cancer Institute’s Interdisciplinary Network for Survivorship and Primary care Research and Education.
Andrea Hans
Public Policy Manager
Cancer Nation
Andrea Hans manages public policy at Cancer Nation. As an otherwise young healthy adult who found her own lump and was repeatedly told she was “too young,” her breast cancer diagnosis in 2021 served as a call to action. With a background in public health, Andrea has become an active voice in breast health policy and advocacy.
Maureen Hennessey, PhD, CPCC, CPHQ
Senior Vice President, Director of Value Transformation
Precision AQ
Kara Kenan
Director of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships
Cancer Nation
Shelley Fuld Nasso, MPP
CEO
Cancer Nation
Veronika Panagiotou, PhD
Director of Advocacy and Programs
Cancer Nation
Saranne Rothberg
The ComedyCures Foundation
Stage IV cancer survivor, researcher, and advocate Saranne Rothberg, will help you develop your comic perspective and laugh more. Saranne threw her first “Chemo Comedy Party” in 1999 from her chemo chair in NYC. Defying her terminal prognosis for decades, Saranne is still cancer-free, bringing her “tumor humor”, live ComedyCures events, and the “Beating Cancer Daily” podcast to patients and survivors in 149 countries with 425+ original daily episodes. Saranne’s “Mindset and Metastatic Cancer Research Study” is considered the first funded AI-informed mental health and cancer survivorship study (2019). She was also a pivotal contributor to Dr. Turner’s “Radical Remission” series. Oprah named Saranne as her hero in 2005.
Ashley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPH
Chief, Outcomes Research Branch, National Cancer Institute
Ashley Wilder Smith, PhD, MPH, is Chief of the Outcomes Research Branch (ORB) at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). ORB supports investigations to understand and improve health outcomes and quality care for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, and families, across all populations. Dr. Smith carries out the mission of ORB by supporting research designed to integrate the perspectives of cancer patients/survivors across the life course, as well as their caregivers and family members, and to integrate those perspectives into healthcare settings with a goal to optimize patient engagement, care quality, health and well-being. Dr. Smith and her Branch have worked in alignment and partnership with the NCI Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS) for more than 20 years. She is currently on the Steering Committee at the helm of NCI’s OCS where she is committed to continuing and extending support of survivorship science at NCI.
Tara Suntum, MD
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric, Adolescent & Young Adult Hematology and Oncology
Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Joslyn Trovati, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
Oncology Behavioral Therapist
Inova Life With Cancer
Survivorship Challenge Fundraiser
Everyone in our community has the power to make a difference. We invite Cancer Nation Summit participants to help raise funds that support Cancer Nation’s work to improve cancer care and strengthen survivor advocacy.
Advocates who raise $300 or more will receive an exclusive 40th Anniversary Cancer Nation T-shirt, be entered into a raffle for Uber gift cards, REI gift cards, and Cancer Nation merchandise, and will be recognized as fundraising leaders during the Cancer Nation Summit. Your voice drives the movement. Your fundraising helps it grow.
Read more about how to get started on our fundraising page.
Learn More and Get Started!
Traveling to CPAT
Traveling to CPAT
| X | |||
| I’m heading to Washington, DC to join survivors and advocates from across the country at the #CPAT2025 Symposium. Together, we’re raising our voices to protect Medicaid and ensure continued funding for cancer research. Follow along! @CancerAdvocacy | I’m heading to Washington, DC to join survivors and advocates from across the country at the #CPAT2025 Symposium. Together, we’re raising our voices to protect Medicaid and ensure continued funding for cancer research. Follow @nccscanceradvocacy. | I’m heading to Washington, DC to join survivors and advocates from across the country at the #CPAT2025 Symposium. Together, we’re raising our voices to #ProtectMedicaid and ensure continued funding for cancer research. @cancersurvivorship | I’m heading to Washington, DC to join survivors and advocates from across the country at the #CPAT2025 Symposium. Together, we’re raising our voices to protect Medicaid and ensure continued funding for cancer research. @cancersurvivorship |
Why I Advocate
| X | |||
| I advocate because cancer survivors like me deserve care that’s affordable, accessible, and compassionate. I’m honored to join the #CPAT2025 Symposium and speak up for policies that protect Medicaid and fuel cancer research. @CancerAdvocacy | I advocate because cancer survivors like me deserve care that’s affordable, accessible, and compassionate. I’m honored to join the #CPAT2025 Symposium and speak up for policies that protect Medicaid and fuel cancer research. Follow @nccscanceradvocacy. | I advocate because cancer survivors like me deserve care that’s affordable, accessible, and compassionate. I’m honored to join the #CPAT2025 Symposium and speak up for policies that #ProtectMedicaid and fuel cancer research. @cancersurvivorship | I advocate because cancer survivors like me deserve care that’s affordable, accessible, and compassionate. I’m honored to join the #CPAT2025 Symposium and speak up for policies that protect Medicaid and fuel cancer research. @cancersurvivorship |
Learning Together
| X | |||
| From policy briefings to survivor-led workshops, #CPAT2025 is equipping us to be stronger, smarter advocates. Grateful to be in community with such passionate changemakers. @CancerAdvocacy | From policy briefings to survivor-led workshops, #CPAT2025 is equipping us to be stronger, smarter advocates. Grateful to be in community with such passionate changemakers. Follow @nccscanceradvocacy | From policy briefings to survivor-led workshops, #CPAT2025 is equipping us to be stronger, smarter advocates. Grateful to be in community with such passionate changemakers. @cancersurvivorship | From policy briefings to survivor-led workshops, #CPAT2025 is equipping us to be stronger, smarter advocates. Grateful to be in community with such passionate changemakers. @cancersurvivorship |
Behind the Scenes
| X | |||
| What does cancer advocacy look like? It looks like this — survivors and caregivers learning, sharing, and preparing to walk the halls of Congress. #CPAT2025 @CancerAdvocacy | What does cancer advocacy look like? It looks like this—survivors and caregivers learning, sharing, and preparing to walk the halls of Congress. #CPAT2025 #CancerAdvocacy Follow @nccscanceradvocacy |
What does cancer advocacy look like? It looks like this—survivors and caregivers learning, sharing, and preparing to walk the halls of Congress. #CPAT2025 #CancerAdvocacy @cancersurvivorship | What does cancer advocacy look like? It looks like this—survivors and caregivers learning, sharing, and preparing to walk the halls of Congress. #CPAT2025 #CancerAdvocacy @cancersurvivorship |
Hill Day
Hill Day
| X | |||
| Today I met with [Rep./Sen. Name] to share why protecting Medicaid is essential for cancer survivors. This isn’t politics — it’s survival. #CPAT2025 #ProtectMedicaid @CancerAdvocacy | Today I met with [Rep./Sen. Name] to share why protecting Medicaid is essential for cancer survivors. This isn’t politics—it’s survival. #CPAT2025 #ProtectMedicaid #CancerAdvocacy Follow @nccscanceradvocacy |
Today I met with [Rep./Sen. Name] to share why protecting Medicaid is essential for cancer survivors. This isn’t politics—it’s survival. #CPAT2025 #ProtectMedicaid #CancerAdvocacy @cancersurvivorship | Today I met with [Rep./Sen. Name] to share why protecting Medicaid is essential for cancer survivors. This isn’t politics—it’s survival. #CPAT2025 #ProtectMedicaid #CancerAdvocacy @cancersurvivorship |
The Message
| X | |||
| Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does — and neither should our care. That’s why I’m in DC today for #CPAT2025, urging Congress to fund cancer research and protect Medicaid. @CancerAdvocacy | Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does—and neither should our care. That’s why I’m in DC today for #CPAT2025, urging Congress to fund cancer research and protect Medicaid. Follow @nccscanceradvocacy |
Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does—and neither should our care. That’s why I’m in DC today for #CPAT2025, urging Congress to fund cancer research and #ProtectMedicaid. @cancersurvivorship | Cancer doesn’t end when treatment does—and neither should our care. That’s why I’m in DC today for #CPAT2025, urging Congress to fund cancer research and protect Medicaid. @cancersurvivorship |
Post-CPAT Reflection
| X | |||
| Home from #CPAT2025 and feeling inspired. I learned so much, met incredible advocates, and used my voice to protect policies that matter to cancer survivors. Thank you @CancerAdvocacy for the tools and community. | Home from #CPAT2025 and feeling inspired. I learned so much, met incredible advocates, and used my voice to protect policies that matter to cancer survivors. Thank you to @nccscanceradvocacy for the tools and community. |
Home from #CPAT2025 and feeling inspired. I learned so much, met incredible advocates, and used my voice to protect policies that matter to cancer survivors. Thank you @cancersurvivorship for the tools and community. | Home from #CPAT2025 and feeling inspired. I learned so much, met incredible advocates, and used my voice to protect policies that matter to cancer survivors. Thank you @cancersurvivorship for the tools and community. |
Keep the Momentum
| X | |||
| Advocacy doesn’t stop when Hill Day ends. I’ll keep fighting for policies that support cancer survivors—because we all deserve a future beyond cancer. #CPAT2025 @CancerAdvocacy | Advocacy doesn’t stop when Hill Day ends. I’ll keep fighting for policies that support cancer survivors—because we all deserve a future beyond cancer. #CancerAdvocacy #CPAT2025 Follow @nccscanceradvocacy |
Advocacy doesn’t stop when Hill Day ends. I’ll keep fighting for policies that support cancer survivors—because we all deserve a future beyond cancer. #CancerAdvocacy #CPAT2025 @cancersurvivorship | Advocacy doesn’t stop when Hill Day ends. I’ll keep fighting for policies that support cancer survivors—because we all deserve a future beyond cancer. #CancerAdvocacy #CPAT2025 @cancersurvivorship |
Hill Day Training Resources
These resources will help you prepare if you are participating in Hill Day meetings. We will provide an overview and answer questions during the Hill Day Prep Session on June 24.
Hill Day Learning Session
In this training recording, Andrea and Shelley tell you everything you need to know about Hill Day and how you can be prepared for your meetings. We discuss logistics for Hill Day, the details of what you’ll be asking your members of Congress, how to tell your story, what to do after your meetings, what to wear, and more. Watch the video below or watch on YouTube.
Running time: 58:12
Video Chapters
00:00 Hill Day Logistics–What to Know
06:08 What Makes a Successful Meeting
09:32 Telling Your Story
15:09 Ask 1: Lainie Jones Comprehensive Cancer Survivorship Act
30:20 Ask 2: Cancer Research Funding
34:42 Closing the Meeting, After the Meeting
37:12 Discussion start
37:48 What if I don’t know an answer during my meeting?
40:33 What more can advocates do for these asks?
44:09 Can pieces of CCSA be passed separately?
49:09 What to wear & bring on Hill Day
54:15 Words of wisdom for new attendees
Prepare Your Story for Hill Day
This short Telling Your Story worksheet walks you through how to hone your story for Hill meetings. Since you don’t have much time in these meetings and may be paired with other advocates, it’s best to keep your story under 2 minutes.
Please complete the worksheet and practice your story before the Summit. During the Advocacy Skills Breakout Session, you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions, refine your story and share it. For more guidance on how to use this worksheet, please watch the Telling Your Story segment in the training video above (starting at 9:30).
Hill Day Schedules
NCCS is working with Advocacy Associates to schedule Hill meetings this year.
Advocacy Associates will email you your preliminary schedule on the Friday before Hill Day. That email will include the log-in information to access your schedule on the Advocacy Day App. You will be able to see your schedule in real-time, as well as the roster for your meetings, bios for your members of Congress, feedback questions to answer after your meetings, and templates to send social media messages and thank you emails.
- Instructions to download the Advocacy Day App (PDF) »
- Tutorial Slide Deck on how to use the Advocacy Day App (PDF) »
You will attend meetings with other advocates from your state. If you are the only advocate from your state, you may be paired an advocate from another state or a Hill Day helper, so you’re not on your own. NCCS staff and board members will attend meetings. You will see on your schedule the names of anyone joining meetings with you.
Because congressional appointments can and do change up until the last minute, final schedules will not be available until the day before Hill Day. Advocacy Associates will join us at the Symposium on June 25 to provide help desk support and answer any questions.
If you have any questions about Hill visits, please contact Andrea Hans at ahans@canceradvocacy.org.
Event Logistics
Hotel
The Morrow Hotel is located at 222 M Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Cancer Nation has booked your hotel room if you are a scholarship recipient. The hotel will be sending out confirmations before you arrive. If you have any questions about hotel accommodations, please contact Nadine Dorvelus at ndorvelus@canceradvocacy.org.
What to Bring/Wear
- The weather in late June in DC is unpredictable: it may be beautiful, but it is likely to be hot and humid so please bring a refillable water bottle. Rain is common in June, so an umbrella may come in handy.
- The Summit is business casual, and we encourage you to wear layers and/or bring a wrap or sweater in case the room is too hot or cold for you.
- Masks are welcome at the Summit. The registration desk will have extra masks if you need them.
- For the Hill visits, business attire is ideal, but please wear comfortable shoes. And feel free to wear the Cancer Nation blue! Just a reminder in business attire, avoid overly casual pieces like jeans, shorts, and flip-flops. Steer clear of revealing clothing (crop tops, deep necklines, and mini-skirts), and sloppy garments (wrinkles, stains, or distressed fabrics). Please leave clothing and accessories with political messaging at home.
Getting Around
- From Reagan National Airport (DCA):
- Uber or Lyft is the most direct option to the hotel.
- Washington Metrorail: The hotel is two blocks away from the NoMa-Gallaudet U/New York Ave stop on the Red Line. Google Maps will direct you to take the Blue or Yellow line from the airport to a station where you can transfer to the Red Line. Find your way to the Red Line Glenmont Platform and take the train to the NoMa- Gallaudet U/New York Ave stop. Travel time is 30 to 40 minutes.
- From Dulles International Airport (IAD):
- Uber or Lyft is the most direct option to the hotel.
- Washington Metrorail: The hotel is two blocks away from the NoMa-Gallaudet U/New York Ave stop on the Red Line. Take the Silver Line from Dulles to the Metro Center station, where you can transfer to the Red Line. Find your way to the Red Line Glenmont Platform and take the train to the NoMa-Gallaudet U/New York Ave stop. Travel time is about 75 minutes.
- From Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), we encourage you to take a shuttle.
- If you are driving, note that parking at the hotel is $65 overnight and it is at your own expense.
- The Washington Metro is a great option for getting around Washington, DC, if you are doing any sight-seeing while you are here.
2026 Cancer Nation Summit Supporters
Social Media Toolkit
The Cancer Policy & Advocacy Team (CPAT) Symposium brings together cancer survivors, caregivers, and advocates from across the country to learn, connect, and take action. This year, we’re heading to Capitol Hill to urge Congress to protect Medicaid and support robust cancer research funding.
We invite YOU — our powerful network of advocates — to share your experience and amplify the message. Use the sample posts, hashtags, and graphics below to tell your story and inspire others.
Engage with NCCS on social media by:
Using the hashtags below.
Suggested Prompts for Personal Posts
Consider making posts more personal using these prompts:
Congressional Social Media Handles
We’ve created a list of social media handles for the Members of Congress you’ll be meeting with.
Congressional Social Media Handles »
Sample Social Posts
We have provided some sample posts below for each social platform.
* Feel free to customize these posts to fit your needs.