Aug 22, 2013
ASCO members spend their careers seeking new and better ways to conquer cancer—through research and innovation, continued education and training, and exemplary patient care. On a daily basis, ASCO members collaborate with the Conquer Cancer Foundation to help magnify ASCO's ability to pursue these aims and bring us closer to a world free from the fear of cancer.
The Foundation is only able to pursue its mission of sharing cutting-edge cancer information and funding breakthrough research through the passion and generosity of its donors. Many of these donors are members of ASCO, but a growing number are not—they are individuals from all walks of life who recognize that, due in no small part to its connection with the world's largest oncology professional society, the Foundation is poised to make a big impact in cancer care.
Women Who Conquer Cancer (WWCC), a new giving program launched by the Foundation this year, is positioned at that intersection between ASCO members and the general public. It is set to unite the enthusiasm of women across the broad spectrum of those affected by cancer—professional oncology practitioners, patients, survivors, and loved ones—behind a cause about which they all are passionate: cancer research.
The power of collaboration
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| Jung-Min Lee, MD, (right) the inaugural recipient of the 2011 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Jane C. Wright, MD, Young Investigator Award and Jane C. Wright, MD, ASCO’s only female founder. |
A single YIA, which supports the work of an early-career researcher for one year, costs $60,000 to award—a daunting figure for many individuals to contemplate. In order to reach that goal, WWCC will bring together women from all over the world, combining their philanthropic capabilities to create a group able to support not just one YIA, but potentially many YIAs each year.
ASCO Immediate Past President Sandra M. Swain, MD, FACP, has been a champion of WWCC since its origins. "It has been so inspiring to see the success of the investigators who had their career started by receiving a Young Investigator Award," she said. "We have to continue to make these opportunities available to them."
Each WWCC participant will make an annual gift of $1,000 (or a monthly gift of $83.33) or more in support of a WWCC YIA. It has only been a few months since WWCC's launch in the DC area earlier this spring, but the group is already well on its way to supporting a 2014 YIA, and the Foundation could not be more thrilled to be working with such a dedicated group of women.
The WWCC YIAs, like all Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO YIAs, will be chosen through a rigorous, peer-review selection process based on the guidelines of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with no other restrictions on the researcher or type of research—the most meritorious applications with the greatest potential will be chosen for WWCC funding.
Growing need for early-career research support
At the Conquer Cancer Foundation Grants and Awards Ceremony held in June at the 2013 ASCO Annual Meeting, thanks to the generosity of hundreds of corporate, nonprofit, and individual donors, 48 YIAs were presented to the best and brightest in early- career oncology research. These YIA recipients are at work in the world's premier cancer research institutions, pursuing diverse projects focused on many different cancer types and therapeutic approaches, as well as survivorship, prevention, and health services research. However, given the record number of applications received for the 2013 YIA competition, the Foundation was only able to fund one in four of the early-career scientists who applied.
When it comes to cancer research funding in general, money is tight. The NIH announced in June that it will be sustaining a 5%, or $1.55 billion, cut to its FY2013 budget, estimating that this will result in 700 fewer competitive research project grants being issued across the board, including in oncology research.
During years when research funding is even more scarce than usual, it is the promising but yet-to-be-established oncology researchers who face the greatest difficulty in funding their work, which is why the WWCC program is particularly timely. Support for young investigators is needed now more than ever before, and these committed philanthropists are working together—and recruiting others—to make sure that happens.
Catalyzing force
In recent years, the worldwide philanthropic efforts of women working together have become an enormously powerful agent of change. They have produced the kind of catalyzing force that can give young investigators the springboard they need to establish lifelong, productive careers in cancer research. The Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO YIA recipients have gone on to achieve significant accomplishments in the field of oncology, and they consistently cite their YIAs as having an important, formative influence on their careers.
Roy Herbst, MD, PhD, recipient of a 1997 Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO YIA, discussed the YIA program during an interview surrounding the announcement of the results of a recent, pivotal study he led concerning a new immunotherapy drug that has been shown to be successful against a variety of advanced solid tumors. "In bang for the buck, donors can have the most influence on the quality of cancer research through the [YIA] program. For a relatively small amount of money, these grants are awarded to the top young oncologists and oncology researchers in the country, enabling them to conduct innovative research with excellent mentorship at top institutions," said Dr. Herbst. "If you look at how much that initial investment through the YIA can be leveraged by a researcher into more substantial funding, its potential is enormous."
Any woman interested in making a difference in the care and treatment of patients with cancer through research is encouraged to participate in WWCC. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Sarah Jacoby at 571-483-1456 or sarah.jacoby@conquer cancerfoundation.org. You can also learn more about the program online at conquercancerfoundation.org/wwcc.