Ruben A. Mesa, MD

We were thrilled to get “the call” from First Lady Jill Biden’s staff.

As the third-largest nonprofit health system nationwide, Advocate Health treats nearly 50,000 new cancer cases annually. The integrated system has a unique opportunity to leverage its scale to advance complex cancer care and improve health outcomes across its various markets.

The effort to defeat cancer is a visceral need for each of us, fueled by the memories of the myriad of special individuals we cared for who passed from this earth due to this terrible disease. 

Tuesday began a typical day in May in South Texas for me as executive director of the Mays Cancer Center. It was a lovely sunny day for late spring, and at our center we were focused, as we are each day, on the core mission we have had for almost 50 years—to decrease the burden of cancer in San Antonio, South Texas and beyond.

On Feb. 23, two exciting cancer initiatives converged in San Antonio, Texas: the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot, and the third Advancing the Science of Cancer in Latinos biennial conference. 

Having cancer as a Latino in the United States has important implications potentially related to risk of carcinogenesis, knowledge of cancer prevention, access to cancer screening, therapy timing and choices, and access to good supportive/palliative or survivorship care.

Diversity is to be celebrated in our society as enriching our experiences, our cultures and the richness of our lives. Diversity within the context of cancer care and research has appropriately grown to include considerations of diversity of race, ethnic heritage, age, gender, and experiences.