The 2024 Atlantic People v Cancer Summit: I Have Some Thoughts 😈😇
PROLOGUE
My Aunt Syd lived to the ripe old age of 83. She survived all sorts of horrors and health issues but always with a pinch of humor and gratitude.
Towards the end, in the early 1990s, she said, "Growing old is a blessing and a curse because you see everything, but you also get everything."
She died of almost everything at once except cancer (Like the "Mr. Burns Is Indestructible" scene from The Simpsons) but peacefully in her sleep on her favorite recliner. It was February 30th, 1992—leap day.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, I've "Jonny Cash'd" myself long enough across the 28 years since my diagnosis to see a lot (maybe not everything quite yet). Thankfully, I'm nowhere near "getting everything" (Knock Wood), but of the many things I have seen, one category of note would be the hundreds of conferences, events, symposia, trade shows, and summits that come and go.
From the Cure Media Summit in 2005, the LIVESTRONG Summit in 2006, the first StandUp2Cancer Telethon in 2008, Health2Con's kickoff in 2008, and Stupid Cancer's OMG! Summit in Vegas in 2012 and others like ASCO, HIMMS, DIA, DPHARM, PAP, HLTH, REUTERS, JPM, and more, one specific event has emerged as a significantly differentiated and uniquely valuable experience: the Atlantic People v Cancer Summit.
I had the pleasure of attending my 7th one of these and felt the need to wax poetic about my experience.
So, in the words of Stanley Tucci's character Nigel from The Devil Wears Prada, "gird your loins," and buckle up.
👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻 👇🏻
AND HERE WE GO
As a past speaker (I think twice, maybe?) at The Atlantic People v Cancer Summit and a supporter and audience member ever since, it is always a joy to attend each year and see how the publication is evolving in its efforts to stay in the mind's eye of public discourse.
(It's also a plus to see—and schmooze with—familiar faces and make new friends in the process. (Case in point Alison Silberman, Jonny Imerman, Katrina Johnson, Jordan Rathkopf, Anna Rathkopf, Courtney DeNicola Nowak, and others)
So, let's dive into this exotic, disquieting, and often exasperating cold plunge that is the murky waters of cancer care in America.
FIRST SESSION // "Cancer Survivorship in America Today"
I admire NCI Director W. Kimryn Rathmell tremendously and consider her to be one of the most credentialed and foremost experienced leaders in the space. (She was grilled at ASCO by patient advocates but handled it with grace and aplomb) However, I feel her talents were underutilized through a conversation that echoed an old, scratched record playing the same tune about the woes of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with cancer.
While I am happy to see the AYA narrative front and center, LIVESTRONG and the Young Adult Alliance (which I was an original member of) flagged these issues back in 2006. Yet, here we are with the same old struggles with disproportionally increasing new diagnoses and age-relevant gaps in survivorship care.
SECOND SESSION // A Reading From "Bless The Blood: A Cancer Memoir"
Young adult cancer survivor Walela Nehanda delivered a hard-hitting blend of art performance and poetry slam, reading excerpts from her book "Bless the Blood: A Cancer Memoir." It was a gut punch, and their crucial voice grounded all of us in reality with a not-so-subtle triggering reminder of why we do what we do and the gaping holes that continue to pervade and exist for diverse communities.
Walela returned to the stage two more times with equally if not more powerful performances that brought many attendees to tears. With that said, it was a missed opportunity not to feature additional patient stories and show a broader range of survivor experiences.
THIRD SESSION // "Diversity Still a Distant Dream"
Northwell Health Physician-In-Chief, Richard R. Barakat MD, MBA and National Hispanic Health Foundation President, Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP, brought their expertise to a motivating and somewhat disappointing conversation once again, rehashing the "Diversity in Clinical Trials" issue we've been talking about for over a decade.
Yes, minority groups are still MIA in trials, thanks in part to historical mistrust and a lack of outreach, and the need for more minority doctors to engage in trials for better dissemination of trial awareness to the disproportionally marginalized was hammered home.
On the bright side, Northwell has decidedly put its best foot forward in all communities, performing over 250,000 preventative cancer screenings in 2023 and building one of the country's most desirable patient navigation programs in the country What's more, unlike many other well-known comprehensive cancer centers, Northwell turns no one away and welcomes cancer patients from anywhere regardless of insurance or lack thereof. (But this is a rare unicorn in a desert of missed opportunities.)
FOURTH SESSION // "Improving The Odds: A Clinical Trial Saved My Life"
The undisputed (says me) highlight of the event was this panel session featuring two young adult colorectal cancer survivors (Imtiaz Balti and Kelly Spill Bonito) who, thanks to Star Trek-level magic in the immunotherapy world of cancer treatment, had their cancers virtually disappear, without the debilitating side effects of traditional therapies.
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Gastrointestinal Oncologist Dr. Andrea Cercek shared her medical perspective on the profound outcomes. However, the focus on success stories risked overshadowing the ongoing struggles to increase trial participation and address accessibility issues. But we'll take all the good news we can right now.
LIFE GETS IN THE WAY
A personal note that I regrettably had to skip out for personal reasons and miss the last three sessions:
"PhRMA Presents: Precision Oncology: The Future of Cancer Care" with Lori Reilly (Chief Operating Officer, PhRMA)
"Beyond Cancer: What is Survivorship Care?" with Emily Browne, DNP, RN, CPN (Director, Transition Oncology Program, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and Dr. Ann Partridge (Director, Adult Survivorship Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
"Strength in Song: The Healing Power of Music" with singer, songwriter, cancer survivor, and patient advocate Bianca Muñiz
WRAPPING UP
The 2024 Atlantic PvC Summit felt like déjà vu, at least to me, most likely because I've been mired, inspired, wired, and disenfranchised in this sector for 25+ years and pretty much seen it all. So, I am admittedly biased.
For all its earnest efforts, it leaned more on derisking itself by rehashing the obvious than—with that one clinical trial panel exception—on delivering any jaw-dropping revelations. So, while it echoed familiar frustrations, it certainly did toss a few hopeful sparks.
The bottom line is that The Atlantic has established itself as one of the most authentic and credible media brands in the space, with the earned credibility to bring experiences like this to the masses. Once more for the cheap seats in the back, I've been a Kool-Aid-drinking supporter since its humble beginnings when they were brave enough to allow me to speak my peace to highly receptive audiences.
So, with my usual irritations, cockeyed pessimism, and low-EQ candor, kindly allow me to proffer up thought nuggets and brain farts for the future as supportive and constructive critique because — well — have you met me?
Controversial Topics: Dive into the murky oncology waters of PBMs (Pharmacy Benefit Managers), drug pricing, medical billing, policy effectiveness, and sketchy industry priorities and practices to spark honest, meaningful debate.(We deserve it)
Diversified Storytelling: Art performances are one of the more raw and authentic methods of reinforcing purpose and passion to the crowd, so broaden the range of survivor (and caregiver) stories to truly reflect the diverse cancer patient experience.
Strategic Partnerships: Identify and collaborate with local nonprofits during agenda planning to make the event hit home harder with the audience through real-world leadership stories from the trenches of serving the very communities we advocate on behalf of
Enhanced Marketing: Step up marketing and communications efforts to build brand awareness and drive hype much earlier by engaging with content, media, and talent influencers, attracting a more diverse, heterogeneous, and engaged crowd.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Carry on, citizens—nothing to see here. Go about your daily lives.
MZ out.