Report from Critical Mass 2013 Cleveland

The participation and active engagement of every attendee is what made this year’s conference, Connecting the Dots, truly incredible, starting with the opening keynote by Diem Brown, who presented her story of being a survivor, entrepreneur and catalyst for change. Groundbreaking AYA research was presented, demonstrating both the progress we have made and the significant burden young adults with cancer continue to bear. We learned how the Affordable Care Act affects young people and their care, and we discussed strategies for overcoming the challenges of siloed care for this fragmented population, which occurs between academic institutions and communities, as well as across disciplines and fields.

Even the lines between Cooperative Groups were broken down in the first-ever Intergroup AYA Oncology Retreat, led by COG and SWOG. In addition, representatives from the Institute of Medicine and the NCI presented summaries of recent meetings that will guide future policy and research efforts in the field of AYA oncology.

President & CEO Heidi Adams laid out the future plans of Critical Mass, starting with a database of AYA-specific programs and resources that will help survivors navigate the network and reach the services they need most, and a National Young Adult Cancer Registry that will tackle the issue of the ongoing lack of data on young adults with cancer.

It was a conference that marked the transition of Critical Mass into a strong, independent organization leading a passionate and dedicated community, and we couldn’t be more thrilled about the path forward.

Thanks for a great event!

2013 Conference

• Abstracts/Poster Session
• Agenda

Recognition

• Steven G. AYA Cancer Research Fund Awards
• Change It Back AYA Centers of Excellence awarded to:
  OHSU Knight Cancer Institute AYA Oncology
  Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center at Northwestern