Man Up to Cancer Makes Connections in Miami

I want to send a huge shout-out to Jessica MacIntyre and the entire team at the Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center for inviting Man Up to Cancer to participate in their 3rd annual survivorship symposium.

More people than ever are living longer with cancer, and after cancer. By 2030, one in 16 people in the US -- more than 22 million people -- will be a cancer survivor. I fully intend to ring in 2030 with them!

Cancer survivors have our own unique needs, from emotional and mental health support to nutrition and fitness to appropriate surveillance to longterm side effect care. The team at Sylvester is tackling these issues head-on, and partnering with patients and caregivers every step of the way. I hope more centers look to their forward-thinking model of care.

I had the honor of speaking about (you guessed it) men and cancer; reasons why men are not accessing the free supports that can improve their lives; and ways we can get them out of isolation and out of the man cave. Two remarkable men also spoke on this topic: fellow cancer survivor Jorge Calil and caregiver to a child with cancer, Henry Wong, both of Miami.

Man Up to Cancer’s COO, Joe Bullock, manned a table for our organization, making dozens of great connections throughout the day of the event.

I couldn't write this post without mentioning the impact that I felt personally, and the whole symposium felt collectively, from the presentation by keynote speaker Bill Brummel, a 28-year survivor of tonsil cancer.

Longterm effects of radiation required Bill in 2016 to have his voice box removed and replaced with a voice prosthesis. The filmmaker from Pasadena, California struggled mightily with depression and loss of identity. Then, he turned his pain into purpose. Bill directed and produced "Can You Hear My Voice?", which documents the members of the Shout at Cancer choir in the UK. All of the choir members have had their voice boxes removed. Needless to say, when Bill showed clips of his magnificent film at the symposium this past weekend, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Keep an eye out for this film to air on PBS in the next few years. In the meantime, learn more about Bill and his incredible project at https://lnkd.in/g3PEjRB4

Bill, as we say in our Man Up to Cancer community, hashtag#KFG!

Founder and CEO Trevor Maxwell (left), COO Joe Bullock (right) with Jessica McIntyre, director of the Cancer Survivorship and Supportive Care Program at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, and keynote speaker, cancer survivor and filmmaker Bill Brummel.