When someone is diagnosed with cancer, the expectation is that care begins quickly and smoothly. In reality, many patients and caregivers find themselves navigating a complicated system, juggling access barriers, approvals, and logistics before treatment even begins.

In this episode of Patient Advocacy Voices, host Eric Racine is joined by Meagan O’Neill, Executive Director of the Association of Cancer Care Centers (ACCC), alongside co-host Rachel Solomon of Sanofi. Together, they explore how cancer care is shaped not just by scientific advances, but by the systems, operations, and local realities that determine whether patients can access timely, effective care.

Drawing on her background in oncology consulting and her personal experience as a caregiver for her mother, Meagan shares why so many of the biggest challenges in cancer care are structural rather than scientific. The conversation dives into the crucial role of community oncology, the operational gaps that delay access to care, and how ACCC is working to bridge the gaps between innovation and practical, everyday solutions for both providers and patients. With most cancer care delivered in community settings, advocacy leaders will learn about ACCC’s “how to” approach that helps close the gap between breakthrough science and real patient access.

In this episode, you’ll gain insights on:

• Why access to care is often determined by where a patient lives
• Non-clinical barriers to patient outcomes, including fragmented systems, administrative burden, and workforce shortages
• The critical role community care settings play in delivering the majority of care in the U.S.
• How collaboration across clinical centers, care teams, and advocacy organizations can reduce friction for patients and providers alike
• How data and patient stories together can drive more effective advocacy and system change

This episode is a timely reminder that improving patient care requires more than medical innovation alone. It takes practical solutions, stronger collaboration, and systems designed to help patients move through care with fewer delays and less burden. It also reveals how patient advocacy organizations can play a critical role in making this happen.

A highly respected patient advocacy organization with a trusted identity and decades of impact made a bold decision to change – the reasons behind this decision matter for every organization.

For many advocacy leaders, brand identity is deeply tied to trust and recognition. But as science evolves and patients’ needs become more complex, organizations must ask themselves: are we reaching all the patients we’re meant to serve?

In this episode of Patient Advocacy Voices, host Eric Racine is joined by Anders Kolb, President and CEO of Blood Cancer United, alongside returning co-host Elizabeth Franklin of Sanofi. Together, they explore one of the most difficult and necessary decisions an organization can make: transforming an already strong identity to better serve patients.

What may look like a simple rebrand is, in reality, a story of leadership, courage, and a deep commitment to patients. Dr. Kolb shares both his professional journey as a pediatric oncologist and his personal connection to blood cancer. He reveals how data, listening, and lived experience uncovered a critical gap: too many patients did not see themselves reflected or served by the organization. This resulted in a strategic change from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society to Blood Cancer United, a name and movement designed to be more inclusive, more representative, and expand access and support for everyone affected by blood cancer.

In this episode, you’ll gain insights on:

• How to recognize when your organization’s mission has outgrown its brand
• How to make a bold, forward-looking decision by reading the right signals
• Why inclusive language helps more patients feel seen, supported, and connected
• How to tie culture, strategy, and success metrics around real patient impact
• Ways to lead a large-scale organizational change

This episode reveals how proactive leadership decisions can transform an organization to expand its impact, remove barriers, and ultimately connect more patients to the support they need when it matters most.

How can patient advocacy leaders ensure that artificial intelligence truly serves the people it is meant to help?

As AI rapidly reshapes the healthcare system, patient advocates have both an opportunity and responsibility to influence how these technologies are designed, governed, and implemented to transform patient health.

In this episode of Patient Advocacy Voices, host Eric Racine welcomes back Randy Rutta, President and CEO of the National Health Council (NHC), alongside Fabrice Bocquillon, Global Head of Digital Patient Experience at Sanofi, for a timely conversation on AI, innovation, and patient-centered leadership. Together, they explore how AI is being applied across healthcare, from accelerating drug discovery to improving disease diagnosis and enhancing how patients navigate care and access support. They discuss what it will take to ensure patients are not just beneficiaries of AI innovation but also active partners in shaping it.

In this episode, you’ll gain insights on:

• Why patient groups must actively shape the future of AI in healthcare
• Ways that AI can help reduce friction across the patient journey
• What “responsible AI” means including fairness, transparency and accountability
• How patient advocates can collaborate with tech innovators, policymakers, and other health system players to ensure AI is patient-informed from design to deployment
• How NHC’s Patient Experience + Innovation Center (PXI) is creating new pathways for patient groups and technology innovators to work together

This is a pivotal leadership moment for the patient advocacy community. This episode is a call for advocacy leaders to engage, ask critical questions, and help set the standards that ensure AI truly benefits patients while remaining ethical, transparent, and grounded in lived experiences.