#CanServe
Helen Keller's quote, "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much" seemed to be the resonating theme of the Cancer Moonshot 2016 Summit in Washington, DC. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit side by side with hundreds of researchers, oncologists, nurses, government officials, data scientists, technology experts, advocates, care partners and fellow patients at the first ever Cancer Moonshot Summit held at Howard University in Washington, DC.
#CanServe was the appropriate conference hashtag. I left yesterday's summit invigorated, inspired, hopeful and valued. I believe EVERYONE in the United States can help with the Cancer Moonshot Initiative thus becoming a source of national pride. Cancer Moonshot was first announced in President's Obama's final State of the Union Address in January and has become Vice President Biden's personal mission. He vows to stick with this initiative even after he leaves office. Moonshot aims to make more therapies available to more patients while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.
A Cancer Moonshot Task Force was created by the president and was charged to bring back a detailed set of findings and recommendations before December 31, 2016.
Urgency is another theme that I see in Cancer Moonshot. There are strict deadlines that Vice President Biden was adamant he will enforce, funding will be withheld for research grants if results are not shared in a timely manner, and the ultimate goal of Cancer Moonshot is to double the pace of research.
The only way these goals can be accomplished is with collaboration from all stakeholders. From this list of specific activities that will support the goals of Cancer Moonshot you can see what I mean by collaboration.
At the end of the Cancer Moonshot Summit we had to write our commitment as to how we #CanServe. I wrote I will use social media to educate my communities about the clinical trial process debunking common myths. I will also use social media to share trial matching websites and apps as they become available. I will and will also encourage my community to share their data, blood samples, saliva, and bone marrow and proactively ask my provider how I can be part of the American Society of Hematology Multiple Myeloma Data Sharing Platform. I will be part of CancerBase and promote it on social media. I will use social media to promote the need to have appropriate cancer screenings done when recommended and have my screenings done too! I will write Congress to make sure this initiative receives the needed funding and continue to post ACTION ALERTS on social media. I will make my voice heard when price of care issues are being discussed and encourage others to do the same. These are just a few easy ways I #CanServe. How can YOU serve?
#CanServe was the appropriate conference hashtag. I left yesterday's summit invigorated, inspired, hopeful and valued. I believe EVERYONE in the United States can help with the Cancer Moonshot Initiative thus becoming a source of national pride. Cancer Moonshot was first announced in President's Obama's final State of the Union Address in January and has become Vice President Biden's personal mission. He vows to stick with this initiative even after he leaves office. Moonshot aims to make more therapies available to more patients while also improving our ability to prevent cancer and detect it at an early stage.
A Cancer Moonshot Task Force was created by the president and was charged to bring back a detailed set of findings and recommendations before December 31, 2016.
Urgency is another theme that I see in Cancer Moonshot. There are strict deadlines that Vice President Biden was adamant he will enforce, funding will be withheld for research grants if results are not shared in a timely manner, and the ultimate goal of Cancer Moonshot is to double the pace of research.
The only way these goals can be accomplished is with collaboration from all stakeholders. From this list of specific activities that will support the goals of Cancer Moonshot you can see what I mean by collaboration.
At the end of the Cancer Moonshot Summit we had to write our commitment as to how we #CanServe. I wrote I will use social media to educate my communities about the clinical trial process debunking common myths. I will also use social media to share trial matching websites and apps as they become available. I will and will also encourage my community to share their data, blood samples, saliva, and bone marrow and proactively ask my provider how I can be part of the American Society of Hematology Multiple Myeloma Data Sharing Platform. I will be part of CancerBase and promote it on social media. I will use social media to promote the need to have appropriate cancer screenings done when recommended and have my screenings done too! I will write Congress to make sure this initiative receives the needed funding and continue to post ACTION ALERTS on social media. I will make my voice heard when price of care issues are being discussed and encourage others to do the same. These are just a few easy ways I #CanServe. How can YOU serve?
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