World Cancer Day 2026: Why Person-Centered Care is the Key to Healing
On February 4, 2026, World Cancer Day enters its second year of the "United by Unique" campaign. It is a global movement that encourages the shift from a one-size-fits-all system toward person-centered cancer care that is tailored to an individual’s needs.
At Conquer Cancer, we believe that to solve a unique problem, we need a unique perspective. We fund a global community of researchers who tackle problems on a local level to create a worldwide blueprint. Over the years, we have funded researchers who represent 96 countries. By supporting scientists who understand the cultural and socioeconomic realities of the communities they serve, we unlock person-centered care for all.
Person-Centered Care: Closing the Geographical Gap
Person-centered care means geography shouldn't determine whether a patient survives a preventable virus. HPV, for example, HPV, for example, fuels a global crisis: cervical cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death for women worldwide.1 For many, for many, the standard of care requires hospital visits and surgeries that are simply out of reach.
To bridge this gap, Conquer Cancer grant recipient Dr. Chemtai Mungo is testing the use of self-administered 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) cream.2 This topical chemotherapy works to destroy any remaining HPV and precancerous cells, reducing the need for a scalpel. By shifting treatment from multiple surgeries at a faraway hospital to a home-based cream, Dr. Mungo is removing the most significant barriers to care: travel distance, clinical costs, and the need for medical specialists.
While her primary research is in Kenya, Dr. Mungo’s work creates a direct blueprint for rural or lower-income American communities facing these same unique hurdles. By demonstrating that a patient can successfully complete their own follow-up care with a medicated cream, Dr. Mungo’s science aims to ensure that whether a patient is in the Africa’s Great Rift Valley or rural North Carolina, they aren't left behind simply because they live miles from a hospital.
Person-Centered Care: The Clinical Value of Lived Experience
While geography is one component of the "United by Unique" theme, truly seeing and hearing the patient is another. A major pillar of person-centered care is focusing on the patient, not the disease.
Lillian Kreppel, a cancer survivor we had the honor of hosting on our Your Stories podcast, faced a diagnosis of HPV-related cancer in 2017. Since then, she has championed the patient perspective as a way to provide ultimate person-centered care. Her journey highlights a life-saving necessity: the provider’s commitment to valuing a patient's lived experience. Lived experience is the unique, personal knowledge a patient has about their own body and symptoms: data that a textbook or blood test cannot always capture.
This goes beyond just hearing words. It’s a diagnostic tool where the provider assumes the patient is the subject matter expert of their own sensations. When clinicians treat this personal insight as credible medical data, they bridge a critical gap. It transforms a patient’s intuition that "something is wrong" into immediate, actionable steps, such as specialized referrals or targeted testing. This level of attention acts as a safety net, catching life-threatening errors and ensuring that care is tailored to the person, not just the diagnosis.
Rewriting the Future: United in Our Goals
Both Lillian and Dr. Mungo demonstrate that person-centered care is a global necessity. Dr. Mungo’s work ensures that life-saving tools reach every corner of the map regardless of socioeconomic status, while Lillian’s advocacy ensures that once a patient reaches a clinic, they are truly heard. They remind us that while cancer statistics are global, the solutions must be personal.
This World Cancer Day, our focus remains on the borders we have yet to cross and the lives we have yet to reach. Your support fuels this global community of researchers, ensuring that person-centered care isn't just a privilege for some, but a standard for every patient, everywhere. Help us scale these unique solutions to meet a global need.
Related Content:
• Hear Lillian Kreppel discuss with Brenda Brody the importance of advocating for HPV-related cancer research. Listen here.
• Conquer Cancer grant recipient Dr. Chemtai Mungo discusses how early-career research funding not only supports the next generation of scientists but also leads to improved cancer care across the globe. Read here.
• Conquer Cancer grant recipient Dr. Thomas Odeny discusses his work supporting cancer research in the United States and Africa and why international collaboration matters. Read here.
• Conquer Cancer grant recipient Dr. Aba Scott is bringing more effective and modern radiation treatment to patients with gynecological cancers in Ghana. Read here.
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