Want to Impact Cancer Care Beyond Medicine? 5 Reasons to Apply for the Astellas Oncology C3 Prize
(BPT) - Sponsored by Astellas Oncology
Anyone who has been impacted by cancer knows that cancer care is complex — in addition to medicine, we need to find solutions to the everyday challenges within the cancer care journey. That’s why Astellas Oncology launched the C3 (Changing Cancer Care) Prize in 2016 to address the complexities of the cancer journey by funding the best ideas in cancer care beyond medicine. Winners will be awarded up to $200,000 in grants, additional resources and support.
Now in its fifth year, the C3 Prize is looking for ideas beyond medicine that can bring solutions to everyday challenges facing people impacted by cancer, including ideas that can ease the increased burden of the COVID-19 pandemic and health disparities impacting cancer patients and caregivers.
Applications are now open at www.C3Prize.com until Sept. 28, 2020. Here are the top five reasons you should submit your idea:
1. You want to positively impact the cancer community, beyond medicine.
Astellas Oncology is inviting anyone with an idea that can have an impact on cancer care to apply. No idea is too simple. Past winners include people who have lived with cancer, caregivers, healthcare providers, patient advocates, entrepreneurs and more.
2. You have experience dealing with the complex challenges of cancer and want to help ease those challenges.
Some of the best ideas come from firsthand experience. Many of the best ideas come from those who have lived through the challenges of cancer, fueling their passion to ease the journey for others.
3. You have an idea to help the cancer community, but need resources to get it off the ground.
Take it from the 2019 C3 Prize winner Audrey Guth. Her winning idea was to expand the reach and impact of Nanny Angel Network, which delivers free, specialized childcare for mothers with cancer. Nanny Angels provide stability, normalcy and coping skills for families during this challenging time.
Through the support of the C3 Prize, Guth has been able to build out the infrastructure and technology of the Nanny Angel Network. Specifically, she was able to build a new learning management system for volunteers and implement a new virtual client management system. “Little did we know that we would all be working from home due to COVID-19 and that we would have to deliver our program through virtual means,” said Guth. “So, we were well-positioned to be able to continue offering our programming while working remotely.”
4. You want to be a part of a community that makes a difference in cancer care.
Abby Westerman, 2019 C3 Emerging Ideas Prize winner, founded b-present Foundation in memory of and inspired by her daughter, who had leukemia as a young adult and passed away in 2016. Westerman used the support from the C3 Prize to launch a beta version of ‘b-there,’ a web-based patient and supporter connection tool to lower the barrier for young adults with cancer to stay connected with friends, offering a quick, easy, low-stress way to control visits, convey status updates and request needed items.
“Together, we can make a difference in changing cancer care,” Westerman said. “I’m so grateful for the C3 Prize, not only for the experience, connections and resources it provided to help us further ignite a movement among young adults to amplify the importance of presence, but for finding solutions and reassuring us that we can all make a difference in cancer care.”
5. It’s easy to apply.
The application process on www.C3Prize.com is simple. Entries will be accepted through Sept. 28, 2020. Following submissions, Astellas will select the C3 Prize 5th Anniversary finalists in December 2020. Each finalist will receive coaching to help prepare for the finalist pitch in March 2021, where they will present their ideas to an expert judging panel.
Do you have an idea that can change cancer care? Visit www.C3Prize.com to learn more.