Our 9th annual West Coast Conference on Work & Cancer took place virtually on Saturday, October 21st and was a great success! It was wonderfully having the opportunity to present to, and interact with, a range of patients, survivors, social workers, nurses, and so many more members of the cancer community in the Western region of the United States (and even some joining from other countries!).

We had 120 individuals join us throughout the day, from 21 states and DC, with some tuning in internationally from Kenya, Hong Kong, and the UK! This kind of turnout continues to reiterate the importance of getting this critical information to our community and beyond. Topics included gathering and organizing information to make key decisions around work and a diagnosis, action planning for balancing work and treatment, tips and techniques for communicating effectively, disclosure considerations, job searching guidance, and identifying healthy nutrition habits when navigating work and cancer. 

The conference has been held virtually for the past three years and feedback suggests this format expands the opportunity and accessibility for many to attend. One 2023 attendee said: "I felt connected to a community and everything I learned was empowering! I just had a mastectomy, and was able to attend from many different locations in my home comfortably...thank you for providing this virtually". Increasing access to the conference remains an ongoing goal for CAC, which is why we offer our Technology Assistance Program, which provides laptops to cancer patients and survivors who didn't have access to a reliable device and would have otherwise been unable to attend the conference. This year we were able to award 25 laptops. One TAP recipient shared "this makes a huge positive impact on my life! Just when I was feeling defeated. I am looking forward to attending the West Coast Conference and connecting with others in the same situation". This type of commentary reminds us that support for our community can take many different shapes and forms.

If you were unable to join us for the conference this year, please be sure to check out the two remaining live Balancing Work and Cancer Webinars of 2023, as well as our Video Archive of recordings from previously held sessions, many of which cover a number of the topics discussed at the conference. Keep an eye out for updates on our 2024 webinar schedule which should be released in the coming weeks as well as the opening of registration for our 2024 Midwest Conference on Work & Cancer. 

And as always, our conference simply would not be possible without the overwhelmingly generous support of our sponsors.