The final day of the 206 LIVESTRONG Summit may have been scheduled for only four hours, but the time was definitely well-spent — informing and motivating the 700 delegates to prepare them for action once arriving home.

LAF Director of Survivorship Andy Miller started the session by reviewing the results of Saturday’s round table work in which delegates identified obstacles, highlighted desired changes and proposed solutions.    Delegates spent part of the morning creating a Personal Action Plan for making a difference in the fight against cancer in their home community.  But first it was time for some more amazing speakers to take the mic and offer their insight.

The first speaker was AOL founder Steve Case who shared his memories of the fateful day when his brother called with the news that he had brain cancer.  Case discussed the irony that he, one of the true revolutionaries of the internet, found it difficult and confusing to find good information on the web.  This frustration inspired him to create ABC² Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure — an organization focused on hastening a cure for brain cancer.  After spending 20 years working to make the internet more accessible, Case vowed to devote the next 10 years to make the healthcare system more accessible.  "It's a broken system that equates to one-sixth of our economy where patients still feel disenfranchised," he said.  "We need to devise a personal system versus the one-size-fits-all version that we have now."

Next was U.S. Senator and prostate cancer survivor John Kerry, who blew the crowd away with his heartfelt story. In a very emotional speech, Senator Kerry recalled his father’s prostate cancer diagnosis, the confusion surrounding his medical choices and the struggle of eventually losing his dad to the disease (listen to this portion of his speech - 1.7M wav). 

"We have been given the gift of having cancer.  We are deeper and have more understanding, and we've been given a crash course in the range of human emotions," Kerry said.

A few years later, during a routine medical test related to his Presidential campaign, medical tests revealed a slight rise in PSA levels.  Kerry said that no one worried about it except his wife, who insisted he get further testing.  The Senator explained the somewhat embarrassing and uncomfortable process of a prostate ultrasound, only to be told midway that a clear result didn't guarantee that he was cancer free.  Kerry said he insisted on a biopsy which led to the call from his doctor on Christmas Eve — six of the 12 samples were positive for prostate cancer.  Not wanting to ruin Christmas, Kerry waited four days to tell his family.  And not wanting to repeat his father’s experience, Kerry opted to attack the cancer and elected to undergo a radical prostectomy.  "I knew that my cancer diagnosis would change my family relationship forever," he said.

As both a cancer survivor and U.S. Senator, Kerry outlined the three areas he believes need attention: 

1. Awareness, since approximately half of all cancer is preventable through simple lifestyle changes like proper nutrition, not using tobacco products and receiving proper screenings. 
   
2. Adequate healthcare, unlike the current system which he deemed, "…apartheid — separate and unequal - and unacceptable."
   
3. Unity, with more than 60 million yellow wristbands sold the Lance Armstrong Foundation truly has the opportunity to build an army in the fight against cancer.  "You can take this experience, take this issue, and take it to the ballot box," he said.  "You need to connect the dots.  Survivorship is not a state of grace; it is a state or responsibility." 

As the Senator wrapped up his speech, the audience gave him a very well-deserved standing ovation.

The final motivational speaker was Elizabeth Edwards, breast cancer survivor, advocate and author of Saving Graces.  Edwards was diagnosed with breast cancer during the last week of the 2004 Presidential campaign in which her husband, Senator John Edwards, was on the ticket with Kerry.  After enduring surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, Edwards relied on hope.  "I know that hope isn't always enough, but without it we've already begun to die," she said.

Edwards cited numerous examples of the hundreds of thousands of cards and letters she received from fellow cancer survivors and how such connections helped her get through it.

Appropriate inspired, the delegates were definitely ready to get back to work — more on that soon as the 2006 Summit heads into its final hours!