A Recap of our 2025 National Conference

Cristian Gomez on July 4, 2025

Last Friday, June 27th, we hosted our 15th annual National Conference on Work & Cancer virtually. Since the program began in 2011, participation has continued to grow—and this year was no exception, with a record 800 attendees joining us throughout the day. We were thrilled to welcome a diverse group of participants, including patients, survivors, caregivers, HR professionals, nonprofit and healthcare workers, managers, coworkers, advocates, friends, and family members from both across the nation and around the world.

This year's speakers included oncologists, social workers, authors, employment experts, and, for the first time, a former professional athlete, all offering unique insights on navigating work and cancer. The conference had four sessions blending expert presentations and interactive discussions. We began with Ask the Experts: The Doctor’s Perspective, where a panel of medical oncologists shared how your healthcare team can help guide employment decisions, manage treatment side effects on the job, and explore work-friendly treatment options. The second session, Ask the Experts: Building Mental and Physical Resilience, CAC Executive Director Rebecca Nellis spoke with Chris Vasami, a former Division I athlete and professional baseball player, who shared how his personal experience with cancer led him to develop new approaches to mindset and lifestyle. Chris was an audience favorite who offered practical strategies for building resilience—lessons that continue to shape his work as a coach and mentor.

Our third session, Connecting the Dots: Navigating Work & Cancer, covered essential employment-related topics including disclosure, job-search techniques, communication strategies (like “The Swivel”), balancing work and treatment, managing side effects, and more. We wrapped the day up with Ask the Experts: Using Artificial Intelligence Effectively, which discussed how AI tools can be used to support job searching and workplace navigation after a diagnosis—alongside key considerations around privacy and strategic use.

In its fifth year, our Technology Assistance Program provided 38 laptops to cancer patients and survivors who otherwise would not have had access to a reliable device and would have been unable to attend the Conference. (If you are interested in being notified about future Technology Assistance Programs, click here.) As part of our continued commitment to accessibility, real-time closed captioning was also available for all attendees throughout the day.

If you were unable to join us for the Conference, please check out our upcoming live Balancing Work & Cancer Webinars where you’ll find deep dives into many of the issues explored during the day. We also offer these sessions on our video archive to replay at your convenience. In addition, registration is now open for our virtual West Coast Conference on Work & Cancer happening on Saturday, October 25th.

A huge final thanks to our sponsors: