The Livestrong Foundation

Policy change is essential to the Foundation’s goal of shifting access to and delivery of ideal cancer care. While programs and services assist individuals or communities, a widespread impact is achieved by developing or enhancing healthcare legislation, regulations, and standards that improve overall systems.

We promote the right to cancer care through initiatives that expand access to care, encourage enhanced government funding and deliver patient-centered innovation.

Learn more at https://www.livestrong.org/take-action/advocacy

Livestrong Fertility is dedicated to providing reproductive information, resources, and financial support to survivors whose cancer and its treatment present risks to their fertility. With a network of over 250 clinics, the Livestrong Fertility Discount Program offers 25% off fertility preservation services and free stimulation to women affected by cancer, assisting with coverage for both pre and post-treatment preservation.

Learn more at https://www.livestrong.org/what-we-do/program/fertility

Livestrong partnered with the YMCA of the USA in 2007 to create Livestrong at the YMCA, a 12-week physical activity program designed to get survivors back on their feet.

We worked with researchers from Yale University and Dana Farber Cancer Institute to conduct a research study on the impact of the program on participants’ cancer-related outcomes. We found that participants experienced significant increases in physical activity, overall quality of life and fitness performance as well as decreases in cancer-related fatigue.

Learn more at www.livestrong.org/what-we-do/program/livestrong-at-the-ymca

The Livestrong Cancer Institutes has a simple yet powerful mission: to reinvent the way cancer patients and survivors are cared for and supported. The Livestrong Foundation has made a $50 million commitment to create and support the Livestrong Cancer Institutes at the Dell Medical School of The University of Texas at Austin.

The Livestrong Cancer Institutes will rethink the full range of cancer care from prevention to diagnosis, treatment and survivorship, all with a focus on the patient’s needs, values and preferences.

Decades of research and working one-on-one with cancer survivors and their families has given Livestrong an informed understanding of some of the largest challenges cancer patients face: chronic pain, loss of fertility, emotional distress, family instability, career impact and long-term financial hardships. We are bringing this knowledge and research to the Livestrong Cancer Institutes.

The Livestrong Cancer Institutes will:

Identify and fill gaps in cancer diagnosis and treatment to establish universal standards and resources for patients and survivors
Identify and serve cancer needs, especially among communities lacking access to care and support
Engage the voices of people affected by cancer in the design and deployment of cancer care, education and research
Develop best practices in cancer care and care delivery using a multidisciplinary team-based focus for each patient
With a home in the newly created Dell Medical School, the Livestrong Cancer Institutes have the advantage of starting from scratch, unencumbered by the rigid cultures and expensive infrastructures that prevent transformation.

The Goal
Our goal for the Livestrong Cancer Institutes is to create a comprehensive model that puts survivors’ needs above all else, from the medical to the emotional to the practical. This innovative model is intended to serve as an incubator. After its creation and implementation here in Austin, we see tremendous opportunities to replicate the Institutes model in other cities across the country and across the world.

In other words: The Livestrong Cancer Institutes will radically improve people’s cancer experience and quality of life; revolutionize how we treat cancer; and reinvent the way cancer patients are cared for.

Next Steps
As a nonprofit that relies on donations, Livestrong is always grateful to its generous donors, volunteers, and other well-valued supporters. For nineteen years now, we have been leading the way in patient-centered cancer support. As we continue moving forward, Livestrong remains committed to patient-centered, revolutionary cancer care.

Livestrong Innovation Conversations explore gaps in care and surface solutions. Icon engages the cancer community, fosters collaborations between like-minded groups and organizations, and provides new answers to everyday problems for those affected by cancer.

Through conversation and collaboration, Icon has three goals:
1. To learn more about the friction points across the cancer care continuum, refine what they are, and offer potential solutions for them.
2. To inform Livestrong of trends, gaps, and issues occurring within the cancer care space to influence programming and ensure we’re meeting the needs of survivors, caregivers, and their loved ones.
3. To highlight the cancer experience and bring together organizations and individuals who are part of the cancer community, providing a new connection point for Livestrong family members, donors, and corporate partners.

Learn more and join the conversation at www.livestrong.org/what-we-do/icon-series

Livestrong at School offers free age-appropriate resources for school professionals and parents including classroom lesson plans for grades K-12, engaging videos and printable worksheets. The goals of the program are to educate students about what cancer is and is not, how to have conversations about cancer, and how to be active in the fight against cancer.

Learn more at www.livestrong.org/school

The Livestrong Solution Grants program recognizes and funds organizations that are developing cutting-edge, inventive, and sustainable solutions to overlooked cancer problems.

We listened to thousands of cancer survivors, medical professionals, and advocates to determine what the biggest problems in cancer are right now.

Our current focus areas include Nutrition and Mental Health.

Our current funding priorities include: reaching the underserved, serving communities of color, defeating digital discord and equitable access to solutions.

Learn more at www.livestrong.org/what-we-do/livestrong-solution-grants