World Cancer Day: United by Uniqueness With Jasmin Hundal, MD, MS, MPH, and Sally Werner, RN, BSN, MSHA

On World Cancer Day, conversations often center on breakthroughs in detection and treatment. Equally critical—but too often underemphasized—is the psychosocial experience of patients and caregivers navigating cancer. In a discussion marking this global awareness day, Jasmin Hundal, MD, MS, MPH, Hematology/Oncology Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic, spoke with Sally Werner, RN, BSN, MSHA, CEO of Cancer Support Community (CSC), about how comprehensive, person-centered support can meaningfully improve cancer care delivery and outcomes.

Cancer Support Community: A Comprehensive Model

Founded more than 44 years ago, Cancer Support Community provides social, emotional, and logistical support to patients, caregivers, and families impacted by cancer. As Ms. Werner explained, CSC operates through three integrated arms: policy advocacy, research, and service delivery. 

“We provide social and emotional support as well as logistical support for patients, their family members, their caregivers—really anyone impacted through a diagnosis,” she said. With over 200 locations across the US, Canada, and internationally, CSC also offers a cancer support helpline and digital tools to expand access.

Importantly, CSC uses a social work–driven, proactive navigation model. Rather than responding to isolated requests, the organization screens for broader stressors and follows up to ensure patients and caregivers successfully connect with needed resources. 

Research Grounded in Lived Experience 

CSC’s research arm focuses entirely on psychosocial and behavioral health, emphasizing real-world patient and caregiver experience. Through mixed-methods research and partnerships with academic institutions, healthcare systems, and industry, CSC generates data that inform both internal programming and broader care models.

A flagship effort is the Cancer Experience Registry, a longitudinal dataset capturing thousands of patient and caregiver perspectives. “We can look at patient and caregiver side by side and look at their experience,” Ms. Werner noted. This dyadic approach helps identify gaps in care and supports implementation—not just publication—of research findings.

World Cancer Day: Prevention, Detection, and Access

For World Cancer Day, CSC’s priorities align closely with emerging innovations and persistent systemic challenges. Ms. Werner highlighted excitement around multicancer early detection (MCED) blood tests, noting that current screening options address only about 30% of cancers. Earlier detection, she emphasized, holds promise for both improved outcomes and prevention.

At the same time, CSC remains focused on access and affordability. With ongoing changes in Medicaid, Affordable Care Act (ACA) programs, and broader healthcare policy, patients and caregivers often struggle to understand what these shifts mean for their care. CSC plays a key role in translating policy into practical guidance.

“We are known for helping patients and caregivers better understand what those changes are and what the impact is,” Ms. Werner said.

Prevention Across the Lifespan

CSC also promotes cancer prevention through education on nutrition, physical activity, and environmental risk factors. While these strategies benefit everyone, Ms. Werner underscored a concerning trend: increasing cancer incidence among young adults. 

“We’re trying to understand how we can best engage young adults not only in prevention through early screening and detection,” she explained, “but if there is a diagnosis, how to reach young adults to support them through that.” For clinicians, this highlights the importance of tailoring care to diverse life stages and psychosocial needs.

Global and Local Adaptation of Care

CSC’s international collaborations demonstrate how evidence-based programs can be culturally adapted to meet local needs. From translating materials for use overseas, to offering yoga on a San Francisco pier, CSC balances global consistency with community-specific relevance.

“Our model is really to meet people where they are,” Ms. Werner explained, emphasizing language access, cultural sensitivity, and patient choice.

A United, Person-Centered Approach

Aligned with this year’s World Cancer Day theme—United by Unique—CSC prioritizes individualized care journeys. Through brief but meaningful screening tools, proactive follow-up, and shared decision making, the organization empowers patients and caregivers to define what support matters most to them.

“Sometimes individuals access our services in different ways that are meaningful to them,” Werner said. “We want to ensure that anyone who is needing cancer support services is able to get them.”

Key Takeaways

• Psychosocial and logistical support are essential components of high-quality cancer care

• Proactive navigation and follow-up help ensure patients actually benefit from available resources

• Patient-caregiver dyadic data can inform more effective, implementable care models

• Rising cancer incidence in young adults demands earlier prevention efforts and tailored support

• Person-centered, culturally adapted care improves access, engagement, and outcomes

“We are on the brink of so many innovations in cancer care,” Ms. Werner concluded, reflecting on World Cancer Day. “It’s an exciting time not only in early detection and prevention, but definitely in treatment as well. I think cancer care has become a little bit less of a burden for patients and caregivers, and we hope to see that trajectory continue.”

About the Speakers

Jasmin Hundal, MD, MS, MPH, is a third-year Hematology/Oncology Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. Previously, she completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Hundal’s main area of interest is the overlap between cardiometabolic health and cancer, particularly for breast cancer patients and survivors. Outside of work, she enjoys traveling, cooking, and hiking. 

Sally Werner, RN, BSN, MSHA, is the CEO of Cancer Support Community. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing and a master’s degree in health administration. A recognized leader and patient advocate, Ms. Werner brings over 25 years of experience in clinical and management responsibilities with nonprofit and for-profit hospitals and community-based organizations. She has overseen all aspects of cancer care, including inpatient and outpatient oncology units, cancer research, cancer registries, supportive services, radiation oncology, infusion centers, and centers for breast health.