ACS CAN Volunteers, Staff Unite at Hispanic Advocacy Conference

This past weekend was one of celebration, unity and education. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) was proud to join the American Cancer Society (ACS) as sponsors of the UnidosUS Latino Family Expo at the 50^th annual UnidosUS conference in Washington, D.C. UnidosUS, formerly known as the National Council of La Raza, is the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, and holds an annual conference that connects leaders in the Hispanic/Latino advocacy community for four days of reflection, discussion and education.  

This year’s conference took place in Washington, D.C., giving a number of ACS CAN national staff and volunteers the opportunity to participate in our booth at the conference. Our booth displayed a colorful “ofrenda.” A Mexican tradition celebrated during Día de Los Muertos, an ofrenda is an altar on which you remember the lives of friends and family who are no longer with us. In the spirit of the ofrenda as a gathering place for loved ones, ACS CAN invited attendees to share with us their cancer story – “Comparta su historia de cáncer” – by writing it down, in English or Spanish, and placing their stories on the ofrenda. 

Alongside these bravely shared stories were photos of ACS CAN loved ones that have left us too soon. Like many of our advocates, Brandon Hughes’ family was deeply affected by cancer – he displayed photos of his grandparents, who both passed away from lung cancer, on the ofrenda. Brandon has served as ACS CAN’s State Lead Ambassador for the District of Columbia for the past year, managing volunteer support for various campaigns, including the recent successful effort to raise the District’s tobacco tax. Brandon attended the conference with his husband, Henry Lopez, because they both care about the Hispanic/Latino community and its representation in the United States.

“Latinos represent one of the largest and fastest-growing demographics in the United States,” Brandon said. “[Henry and I] believe that their contributions to the richness of this country should be recognized, and that the needs of their communities should be reflected in the advocacy work we do.” 

In our effort to connect with the Hispanic/Latino community at the UnidosUS conference, Brandon, Henry and other ACS CAN volunteers and staff, along with ACS staff, educated conference attendees on ways to reduce their risk of cancer – especially breast, thyroid, prostate and colorectal cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancers in Hispanic/Latino women and men in the United States. Materials were available in both English and Spanish that explained the importance of cancer prevention screenings and access to affordable, quality care for minority communities in the United States. In addition to collecting the cancer stories, ACS CAN advocates gathered petitions advocating for increased funding for cancer research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).  

I want to thank all our volunteers and staff members who shared their time, skills and stories during this year’s UnidosUS conference. Creating this beautiful ofrenda, providing bilingual education materials and collecting cancer stories in both English and Spanish allowed ACS CAN to further engage with the Hispanic/Latino community at the conference and, will help the organization further its efforts to build a diverse and inclusive organization that reaches and represents all Americans.

Pictured, left to right: Henry Lopez; ACS CAN D.C. State Lead Ambassador Brandon Hughes; ACS CAN Texas Grassroots Manager Ana Ramon; Joe Beveridge; ACS Coordinator, Community Support of Northeast Region Joanna Beveridge