Bueller... Bueller... Bueller...

When I launched Stupid Cancer in 2007, it was because I was pissed off, invisible, and done being treated like a footnote, along with every other AYA cancer patient on this small blue marble.

Soojin's essay nails exactly why I do what I do.

Healthcare loves to talk at patients. Throw us on a panel. Quote us in a press release. Parade us around like the Care Bears of lived experience.

Meanwhile, we built the table. We are the table. You just keep ignoring it because it doesn’t fit your quarterly objectives.

Patients aren’t your feel-good story. We’re strategic assets, revenue unlocks, and the best market research you’ll never pay for.

You trust your agencies, consultants, and advisory boards—but not the people you’re actually supposed to be helping. Make it make sense.

And why are we still the last to get invited to the meeting? Why are the best insights buried under bureaucracy? Why do we have to prove our value like it’s a bad episode of Double Dare?

If you’re in pharma, biotech, digital health, or running a nonprofit and you still don’t have a patient on payroll, in the C-suite, or influencing strategy—what exactly are you doing?

It’s 2025. Patients aren’t your mascot. We’re your missing link. And we’re done being nice about it.

SOURCE ➡️ https://medium.com/i-am-cheese/the-power-of-patients-c0ed3425696a