CAC2 Annual Summit: Together, Forward
Guest post by Julie Taylor, Children’s Cancer Cause Director of Programs and Operations
The Coalition Against Childhood Cancer (CAC2) held its Annual Summit at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, June 22-23. It was the first in-person gathering since 2019, and the sense of community in being able to interact in person was palpable.
CAC2’s mission is to “foster and sustain greater levels of collaboration, information exchange, and learning across the childhood cancer community” through efforts in advocacy, awareness, family support, survivorship, and research and treatment. This mission is closely aligned with that of Children’s Cancer Cause. We have been an active member of the Coalition since its founding in 2013, and we’re thrilled by its growth over the years, to become a coalition that now has over 125 member organizations, in addition to individual, student, and associate members.
I was privileged to join our founder Susan Weiner and CEO Steve Wosahla at the Summit to experience the CAC2 mission in action. Jess Kean, our Director of Communications, has served as a leader in the Coalition and was recognized more than once for her contributions as she completed her second 3-year term on CAC2 Board of Directors.
The Summit provided a valuable opportunity to connect with other organizations and individual members of the Coalition to explore potential collaborations, raise awareness about the work of Children’s Cancer Cause, and learn from pediatric cancer advocates and clinical experts. Beyond networking activities, the Summit offered policy and research presentations. These included a keynote address from Danielle Carnival, PhD, who leads the reignited White House Cancer Moonshot initiative. Other policy-related presentations included updates on critical pediatric cancer efforts through the RACE for Children Act and implementation of the STAR Act.
Research presentations examined topics such as the long-terms metrics we should be looking at beyond 5-year survival rates, and one of the panel discussions addressed the essential need for international cooperation in childhood cancer research. Getting drug companies to test targeted therapies early in kids has been a goal for Children’s Cancer Cause since our founding in 1999. As we pursue this priority, we’re working on how U.S. efforts in this arena can align with current and evolving international initiatives, including the ACCELERATE platform, an international effort “to accelerate the process of evaluating innovative therapies and introduce them in standard cancer care in children and adolescents.”
Other speakers included NCI’s Brigitte Widemann, MD, on the future for the Childhood Cancer Data Initiative. In addition, the Chair of the Children’s Oncology Group, Douglas Hawkins, MD, discussed the slow pace of new drug approvals for pediatric indications and the NCI-COG Pediatric MATCH Study, which aims to identify and match patients to trials regardless of geography as a way to improve the diversity of those enrolling in pediatric clinical trials.
Summit attendees also participated in the CAC2 Interest Groups to discuss the numerous collaborative efforts among Coalition members. The Interest Groups directly align with the core pillars of the organization:
1) Advocacy
2) Awareness
3) Research & Treatment
4) Family Support, and
5) Survivorship.
Children’s Cancer Cause is engaged in the Survivorship Interest Group and an initiative to create a survivorship toolkit, intended to offer a comprehensive, community-wide source of information and resources to support survivors and families. This particular project will complement the information and resources available through our Stewart Initiative for Childhood Cancer Survivors.