Our Next Step to Expand Early, Equitable Access to Whole-Person Supportive Cancer Care: The Together for Supportive Cancer Care Coalition
Today marks an important step forward in making whole-person, supportive cancer care the new national standard in our country—for all people living with cancer and their caregivers, no matter where they live or receive care.
Organizations and leaders across the country and across sectors – including cancer care providers, patient advocacy groups, policy experts, employers, pharmaceutical companies, philanthropy, insurers, and other industry leaders -have united to launch a new national coalition: Together for Supportive Cancer Care.
The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation is grateful to these organizations for coming together. As both a member and convener of this new national coalition, we are committed to working with our Together for Supportive Cancer Care partners to drive equitable systems change. We look forward to learning from and collaborating with the incredible group of experts who make up this coalition.
As many of you know, Sheri and Les Biller have a long-standing commitment to ensuring that cancer patients and their families receive supportive care.
As Sheri Biller says, “Equitable access to supportive care must be viewed as a human right for all people. Every person, no matter their background, geography, or where they receive treatment for their illness, should have access to supportive care that provides emotional, physical, spiritual, and social support.”
After establishing a close relationship with City of Hope, a renowned national cancer institute, Sheri and Les founded the Biller Patient and Family Resource Center. The center was a pioneering initiative designed to address the multifaceted needs of cancer patients, providing resources to strengthen and empower patients and caregivers before, during and after treatment.
After years of witnessing the positive impact of supportive care, and yet how few people receive it, we set out to see what we could do. We looked at the growing body of evidence that demonstrates how supportive cancer care improves treatment outcomes and quality of life while providing higher-value care and lowering healthcare costs. We talked to organizations who have been working in this area. We surveyed almost 10,000 patients, caregivers and providers. And as a result, we took the bold step of bringing together a diverse set of leaders to consider working collaboratively to make supportive cancer care a national standard.
Earlier this year, we convened the inaugural Together for Supportive Cancer Care Summit in Washington, D.C. We brought together public policy experts, cancer care providers, patient advocacy groups, employers, insurers, and pharmaceutical companies to address the urgent need for early and equitable access to supportive care across the cancer care continuum. We were inspired by the cross-sector collaboration and discussions and excited by everyone’s interest in continuing to work together.
The coalition launching today, Together for Supportive Cancer Care, will amplify current efforts, share best practices, and identify new solutions to make supportive cancer care the national standard. We look forward to learning from and supporting the experts within the coalition as it drives meaningful change in cancer care. The coalition includes over 40 organizations who are committed to making supportive care an integral part of cancer treatment by addressing the clinical, emotional, and practical needs of patients and their caregivers.
“Sheri has always had the vision to help support cancer patients by giving them, their family, and their caregivers the support they need, so the patient can focus on their clinical care and get well. We know that when people receive wrap-around supportive care, their quality of life, medical outcomes, and cost of care improve, “says Les Biller.
By uniting cross-sector voices and expertise, the coalition is uniquely positioned to transform the cancer care landscape and ensure that patients, caregivers, and healthcare systems benefit from a whole-person approach to treatment. The coalition will work collaboratively across three focus areas: policy, research, and employer support, with specific goals to:
- Advocate for state and federal policies that expand access to supportive cancer care.
- Promote new and existing research demonstrating the positive impact of supportive care on outcomes, quality of life, and healthcare costs.
- Engage employers as champions for expanding equitable access to supportive cancer care.
We look forward to being part of the coalition and continuing to champion its members and our collective efforts to expand access to supportive care for all cancer patients, their caregivers, and their families. You can read more at the Together for Supportive Cancer Care website.