Answer Cancer Foundation

Answer Cancer Foundation d/b/a AnCan is the innovator of video chat virtual peer support. AnCan believes peer information is amongst the most valuable source available for anyone living with a chronic condition. Additionally, peer connections provide support, both technical and emotional. Founder Rick Davis conceived of virtual support in 2010 after spending 3 years in physical support groups as a participant and moderator navigating his own Stage 3 prostate cancer diagnosis. He recognized virtual support could overcome the following obstacles to attend a physical location: Geography, Physical disability and Social disability. Virtual meetings started as telephone conferences in 2010, switched to video chat meetings by 2015. The number of attendees has vastly increased during the global pandemic that made it impossible to convene physical meeting and turned many support groups virtual. AnCan hosts 20+ free drop-in meetings/month for 10 conditions, including 3 rare diseases., including: Blood Cancers, Cancer Caregivers, Men’s Breast Cancer, Ovarian Cancer, Active Surveillance/Low Risk Prostate Cancer, High Risk, Advanced Prostate Cancer, Renal Medullary Carcinoma, Thyroid Cancer. AnCan’s goal was to create the lowest barriers to entry to join a group – namely one-click entry or joining by phone using the GoToMeeting platform, which does not require authentication for admission. We also offer one-on-one navigation and champion national advocacy to improve the patient voice. AnCan is recognized as the source of best practices for moderating virtual support groups. We prioritize new participants and poll each attendee personally for updates – this produces a much better response than casting out a general request. AnCan also hosts webinars, including a unique series, The TALK, that focuses on how families talk about on disease conditions harbored by a member.... More Info Less Info