LIVESTRONG at ASCO
by Ruth Rechis (LIVESTRONG Staff)1 Comment
I am headed back from my first trip from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference. I have always heard about how important and impressive it is to attend the ASCO conference — the premier conference in oncology. I can now confidently say that with 32,000 attendees, this international conference which showcases cutting edge research and includes multidisciplinary programming did not disappoint. I feel very fortunate to have been able to attend, present, and share the voices of cancer survivors.
My trip kicked off with the opportunity to present at the opening press briefing as a representative of the survivor voice. As an 18-year survivor of cancer and a sibling survivor I was honored to share my story and to call for the need to support for cancer survivors and their loved ones throughout the cancer continuum. I was quite humbled that the oncologist who treated both me and my sister, Dr William Meyer, was able to attend
Saturday morning we presented the results from the Electronic Health Information Exchange survey, that more than 10,000 individuals participated in last year, as it compared to data from NCI?s HINTS survey. I was truly proud to be able to share the voices of our survey participants with the scientific community. I was also thrilled to present a few feet away from great research that was conducted by the LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence Network and the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance!
Saturday afternoon we presented the results from post-treatment cancer survivors who participated in the LIVESTRONG Survey for People Affected by Cancer . The results of this survey highlight the gap between who reports post-treatment needs and who receives care for those needs as a critical break¬down in post-treatment survivorship. I was proud to be able to share the stories and the data that more than 3000 post treatment cancer survivors reported to us.
If you?re interested in learning more about these surveys or other research that we?re conducting here at LIVESTRONG check out our Reports and Findings page .
Our presence at ASCO also included a booth where we met with great people from around the world to tell them about the great work that we do, a presentation from our own Executive Vice President of Mission with the Answers to Cancer event, and an opportunity to highlight in multiple venues our new Focus Under Forty curriculum. I also had the opportunity to attend sessions, meet with amazing colleagues ? new and old, and test new limits of my feet exploring every corner of the massive McCormick Place!
Finally, to all of you that have participated in our surveys over the years, I just want to say a big THANK YOU!!! You are making it possible for us to better understand the needs of cancer survivors ? which we then share with audiences like ASCO and act on through our LIVESTRONG programs and services. We cannot do this without your help!
Sincerely,
Ruth Rechis, PhD
Director, Research & Evaluation
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