A few weeks ago, b-present shared the exciting news that our organization was selected as an Astellas C3 Prize Emerging Ideas semi-finalist. I admit I was in tears when I read the email, first scanning through quickly and then re-reading to confirm the good news. I felt a rush of various emotions and thoughts, but the most powerful was that we, b-present, are one step closer to bringing Kirsten’s full vision to life. This award nomination truly validates and has the potential to strengthen our vision to transform her struggle into positive change for other young adult cancer patients. Honored and humbled to be featured as a semi-finalist among such prestigious peers in the cancer care space, I sat with disbelief as I realized Astellas was giving us the opportunity to significantly further our impact. For a recently established nonprofit, founded by passionate volunteers committed to strengthening the young adult cancer patient support network, the recognition of our b-there tool as an important solution for improving cancer care was incredibly rewarding.

I applaud the Astellas C3 Prize Team for helping the cancer community innovate and bring meaningful ideas to fruition. They recognize the importance of improving the patient experience, and understand that often the best ideas come from those that have first-hand experience —  as patients or supporters. We are grateful to be considered for this incredible opportunity to help Change Cancer Care, and look forward to hearing the final results soon. We are excited to be part of a community that seeks to innovate and change care for the better, and are wishing the best of luck to all semi-finalists; we’re all in this together.

To learn more about the Astellas C3 Prize, and see all of the exciting proposed ideas click here