Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer
Authors: Sandra M. Swain
Journal: Journal of Clinical Oncology (2013)

Welcome, everyone, to the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). I realize that many of you have traveled a long way to get here, and I am delighted you can be a part of “Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer.” For those of you who know me well, you know that I love movies. What may surprise you is that one of my favorites is The Replacements. It’s the story of a football team whose players have very different backgrounds—and how these unlikely players leverage those differences to create a winning team. During one of the pivotal scenes, someone asks the coach (played by Gene Hackman), “What will it take for this team to win?” His answer is, “HEART. You gotta have heart... MILES and MILES of HEART.” I have to confess that I’ve seen this movie more than once and the coach’s message resonates with me every time. I can draw many parallels to what we, as oncologists, do every day. Like “the Replacements,” we are people of diverse backgrounds. We draw from different cultures and experiences. But we are all passionate about our work. We have a common goal of conquering cancer. I’m confident that through teamwork, and by sharing knowledge, we will connect the pathways that empower us to deliver the best outcomes for our patients. This is an extraordinary time—especially in oncology. An explosion of new data comes weekly. The digital age is changing our world at a rapid pace, democratizing both information and education. There has never been more opportunity and there has never been a greater need to collaborate. In particular, I want to highlight three things. They are: (1) the possibilities and promise of global health equity; (2) the need to strengthen future generations of leaders and practitioners; and (3) the vision for a rapid learning system in oncology. The solutions for all three have at their core the need for connection. If recent events have taught us nothing else, it is that success is made possible by collective effort, by neighbor helping neighbor, and by learning from those who have gone before us. Nowhere is this truer than in oncology. The promise of science, the power of technology, and the strength of an increasingly global community can be leveraged to produce a world free from the fear of cancer. One of the pleasures of the year as ASCO president is the ability to bring personal and professional passions and a sense of what really matters into focus for the work of our membership. This year’s meeting theme, “Building Bridges to Conquer Cancer,” reflects my particular interest in outreach to partners and possibilities that lie beyond the work of our daily practices. What about those bridges? Do we have the capability to build them? Can we strengthen those already in place? Any engineer will tell you that the strongest bridge has solid support, high quality materials, and a good design. ASCO is fortunate to have all three. To be specific, ASCO’s great support comes from a membership of more than 33,000 professionals in every sector of our field. International membership has surpassed 10,000, and we now have ASCO members in more than 100 countries. Our reach and our ability have never been greater. ASCO’s materials—education, scientific publications, guidelines, and many more high-quality programs— come from dedicated committees, boards, and task forces. I take great pride in the work produced by the ASCO volunteers I’ve worked with this year. Special thanks go to Dr Doug Yee and Dr Antoinette Tan, who have prepared an outstanding meeting. A record-breaking 5,306 abstracts were submitted this year, and nearly 2,700 faculty members will present cutting-edge science and education programs over the next few days. Of course, the strongest support and finest quality materials need good design. This is the ASCO mission: to conquer cancer through research, education, prevention, and delivery of high-quality care. ASCO is fortunate to have talented leadership for the more than 143 committees, advisory groups, and task forces whose efforts are aimed at achieving that mission. ASCO volunteers have set a high bar indeed. This year alone, 1,600 volunteers have worked to advance our mission—and I thank each and every one of you for all that you do. Clearly, there is no shortage of challenges deserving our attention. The three issues mentioned earlier—advancing global health equity, mentoring the next generation of leaders, and the need for a JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY P R E S I D E N T I A L A D D R E S S VOLUME 31 NUMBER 30 OCTOBER 2