M.D., Chief Cancer Control Officer, American Cancer Society
Biography
Richard C. Wender, MD, chief cancer control officer of the American Cancer Society, helps lead the only comprehensive cancer control organization in the world. He drives the effort to transform the face of cancer here and around the globe by developing strategies for access to care, patient navigation, and health equity. Prior to joining the Society’s staff in 2013, he provided extensive volunteer leadership at the organization’s state and local levels. In 2006, he was elected national president of the Society, becoming the first primary care physician to serve in this capacity. Dr. Wender worked for more than three decades as a family physician in the department of family and community medicine at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. From 2002 until 2013, he served as alumni professor and chair of the department. Dr. Wender has led numerous initiatives designed to improve preventive care and chronic disease management. He currently serves as chair of the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable.
Talk
Achieving Equity In Cancer Care
Although cancer mortality rates have fallen by 27% since they peaked in 1991, progress has not been experienced equally. Substantial disparities can be seen based on many parameters: income, educational attainment, neighborhood, nationality, and race are major determinants of cancer outcomes. The ACS will present a framework for tacking these social determinants of health in the pursuit of health equity.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2020 Silicon Valley
Precision medicine has incredible promise for patients. Enormous amounts of money and time are invested in developing technologies and targeted therapies. Genomics, proteomics, phosphorylation assays, RNA expression, organoid growth, and testing, and even delicate mass measurement of liquid cancer cells are explored. This innovation must be focused to maximize the benefit to the most important participants in our healthcare system, the patient. This track is about putting patient needs first, and understanding and accessing the latest (cancer) treatment options.
- Overview for Patients: The Latest Cancer Treatments
In this session, you will hear from industry leaders about the latest strategies for diagnosing and treating cancer, the latest targeted- and immunotherapies, and the latest techniques for catching cancer early when it is most vulnerable. These breakthroughs could save your life or that of a loved one.
- Jennifer Grandis, UCSF
- Cliff Hudis, ASCO
- Craig Lipset, Clinical Innovation Partners LLC
- Richard Wender, American Cancer Society - Overview for Patients: Latest Tech In Oncology
Oncologists are increasingly using technology to precisely diagnose the biological mechanisms driving a patient’s tumor, to predict which therapies are likely to be most effective in block-ing them, and to monitor the patient’s response in real time. Learn how these technologies are transforming the practice of oncology into a science.
- Vik Bajaj, Foresite Capital
- Matt De Silva, Notable Labs
- Gary Palmer, Tempus, Inc.
- Daniel Simon, Guardant Health
- Margaret McCusker, Flatiron Health - How Patients Get What They Need
The latest treatment options are not an option if you can’t get or afford them. Learn about the novel strategies top docs use to access breakthrough tests and therapies for their patients through clinical trials, expanded access and contingent reimbursement.
- Eric Marton, Wavemaker 360
- June Wasser, Consultant
- Martin Naley, OctX
- Conrad Vial, Sutter Health
- Maurie Markman, CTCA Health - Summary for Patients: So What- Putting It Together
For nearly a decade, non-profit Cancer Commons has helped thousands of patients and their physicians beat the odds with information about the latest tests and treatments. New software and industry partnerships are taking this to the next level, where treatment decisions are in-formed by the latest tech, a treatment’s accessibility, and the collective experience of all patients and physicians.
- Marty Tenenbaum, Cancer Commons
- Carla Grandori, SEngine Precision Medicine
- Mika Newton, xCures
- Conan Kinsey, Huntsman Cancer Center
- Jim Snyder, Henry Ford Health System
- Erika Monteverdi, Cancer Commons
- Harvey Cohen, Stanford University
