If you are a person impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), are living with cancer, or are immunocompromised, one important way to maintain some sense of control in what might be an anxiety-provoking time is to understand what is being done from a policy perspective to help respond to the pandemic, and how these changes have the potential to actually impact you and your community.

Each month, the Cancer Policy Institute profiles advocates who have been engaged in cancer advocacy. Read on to learn more about Lauren and her passion for ensuring that patients are able to afford and easily get the best treatment for their disease. If you are interested in learning more about policy, advocacy, and ways to get involved, sign up to be a part of the Grassroots Network!

Support groups can be hugely helpful for those impacted by cancer. It creates a space where the good and the bad can be shared within a supportive community. No matter the circumstance, a support group ensures that no one is trying to manage tough cancer experiences alone.

Each month, the Cancer Policy Institute profiles advocates who have been engaged in cancer advocacy. Read on to learn more about Siobhan, and her path to become the Executive Director of Gilda's Club Kansas City. If you are interested in learning more about policy, advocacy, and ways to get involved, sign up to be a part of the Grassroots Network!

How do you begin — how does anyone begin — to communicate in the face of certain and impending death? Do we have to? Did my dad want to? At the time, we all struggled with what to say to him, and everyone else struggled with what to say to us. But now, eight years after his passing, I finally understand that those “right words” that we were all searching for — they simply don’t exist. In fact, there are exactly zero words in the English language (or any language) that cure cancer, solve complex mental health issues, or bring people back from the dead.

Place matters, especially when home must be redefined because the person with whom you made a home is no longer alive.