The Not-So-Good Cancer: Mary Glen’s Inspiring Advocacy Journey
Advocate Spotlight: Mary Glen Mary Glen was serving as an active-duty Army officer, deployed to South Korea in August 2020. Just 24 years old, Mary recalls feeling fatigued, experiencing bouts of depression, hair loss, and brittle nails, but her symptoms were initially attributed to the stress of deployment. “In the ...
NCCS Presents The State of Cancer Survivorship: 2022 Survey Results
The National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) conducts an annual State of Survivorship Survey, in partnership with Edge Research, to delve into the cancer patient and survivor journey. This study captures a range of perspectives to better understand how NCCS can support its mission to advocate for quality cancer care ...
NCCS Mourns the Loss of Lori Wilson, MD, FACS
The NCCS community is mourning the loss of Lori Wilson, MD, FACS. Dr. Wilson was a skilled oncology surgeon, a passionate educator, and a dedicated mother. She was also living with metastatic breast cancer and was a voice for cultural humility in healthcare. She weaved her lived experience into her ...
Kara Kenan: Helping Others is the Greatest Reward of Advocacy
“Nobody wins afraid of losing” rings true for Kara Kenan, a breast cancer survivor. It’s her favorite line from Chris Stapleton’s song, “Starting Over,” which, for her, is symbolic of overcoming the fear of a cancer diagnosis and coming out on the other side. Kara recognizes that winning looks different ...
Bethany Ross: Advocating for Quality Cancer Care Through Storytelling
Advocate Spotlight July 2022 - Bethany Ross Bethany Ross is a four-year neuroendocrine cancer survivor, or “cancer badass,” as she prefers to be called. She attended NCCS’s in-person Cancer Policy and Advocacy Team (CPAT) Symposium for the first time in June as a CPAT steering committee member. “It was amazing ...
Wenora Johnson: The Art of Caregiving: Connection and Kindness
Advocate Spotlight June 2022 - Wenora Johnson “One of the most important lessons I’ve learned as a caregiver is that the smallest act of kindness means so much to a person who’s not able to do for themselves,” says Wenora Johnson, who has cared for her brother throughout his diagnosis ...
Erin McGee Ferrell: The Art of Cancer Advocacy
Advocate Spotlight May 2022 - Erin McGee Ferrell Erin McGee Ferrell’s cancer was discovered during a traditional ceremony in a small Ecuadorian town along the Amazon River. She’d been traveling as an independent artist for five weeks, researching natural paints and pigments from Amazonian plants and minerals. Although she felt ...
NCCS Project Aims to Gain Cancer Survivors’ Insights on Telehealth
This month, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) launched a project to identify and share cancer patients’ and survivors’ perspectives on telehealth in cancer care. Regulatory, societal and practice changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have led to an increased use of telehealth, including in various aspects of cancer ...
A Medical School Perspective: Beyond the Science, We Must Learn to Communicate with Patients
By Nainika Nanda, MD — Survivorship. What does this mean? Oncology highlights patients currently battling cancer. However, survivorship encompasses a longer timeline. Cancer requires lifelong care, which is achieved through proper doctor-patient communication. In fact, this relationship is a keystone of medicine. Unfortunately, it can lose focus in the sea ...
What Caught Our Eye: ACA Analysis/Debate, Doc/Patient Communication, Universal Cancer Care, Financial Toxicity, Palliative Care Pain Studies
As the repeal and replace debate continues in Washington, the Brookings Institution spearheaded a study to look at what is and isn’t working with the Affordable Care Act. Their look at five states who implemented the ACA in various ways is informative to help inform where we go from here ...
