Advocacy isn’t only about having something to say. It’s also about the opportunities we create for people to learn, contribute, and be heard.
This week, I’m highlighting Gretchen McNally, Pamela Deasy, and Julia Hahn. Their posts offer three different perspectives on that work: learning alongside patient advocates, building the confidence to contribute to research, and bringing the people behind colorectal cancer advocacy into the spotlight.
What connects them is the space they’re helping create for meaningful participation.
Gretchen McNally: Learning alongside patient advocates
Gretchen McNally, a nurse practitioner scientist at The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, shared a reflection from the SWOG Cancer Research Network fall meeting.
What stood out to me wasn’t just her enthusiasm for the meeting. It was her recognition that connecting with multidisciplinary peers—including patient advocates—is influencing her work.
She also thanked The Hope Foundation and the Mentoring Advanced Practice Providers program, or MAPP, for supporting the opportunity.
That’s why I wanted to feature Gretchen this week. Her post recognizes patient advocates as part of the community she learns from, not as people separate from the work.
For me, that’s an important part of advocacy: creating opportunities where people with different experiences can learn together and carry those perspectives back into what they do.
Read Gretchen’s original post
Pamela Deasy: Bringing lived experience into research
The All-Island Cancer Research Institute shared Pamela Deasy’s reflections on participating in VOICE-Ireland, its Scientific Training for Cancer Patient Advocates programme.
Pamela’s experience was featured in Digestive Cancers Europe’s newspaper, in an article titled “From the Other Side of the Laboratory Door.”
One passage especially stayed with me:
“With knowledge came confidence. I now see my role as a patient advocate more clearly. It extends beyond telling my story. I can bring my experience into the places where research is designed, questions are chosen, and decisions are made.”
That distinction matters.
Sharing a personal story can help people understand an experience. Bringing that experience into research discussions creates another opportunity: helping shape the questions being asked and the decisions being made.
I chose Pamela because she describes that connection so clearly. Knowledge and confidence aren’t just personal benefits here. They help her see where, and how, she can contribute.
Read the post about Pamela and follow its link to her article.
Julia Hahn: Bringing the people behind advocacy into view
Julia Hahn, Director of Communications and Development, shared a reflection after the BE SEEN ALIVE Awards.
Her post acknowledged the work behind the event: planning, partnerships, communications, storytelling, and the many people needed to bring it together.
But the part she valued most was the people.
Julia described getting to know ALIVE honorees through interviews for the From Carpools to Chemo podcast—survivors, caregivers, physicians, and volunteers who have turned their experiences and expertise into action.
What stood out to me was the connection between the celebration and the listening that came before it.
The awards were a visible moment. The conversations helped reveal the people and work behind that moment.
I chose Julia because her reflection keeps the focus there: on people working to change the trajectory of colorectal cancer, and on the opportunity to help their stories reach others.
Read Julia’s original post.
Three different ways to make room
Gretchen’s post is about learning alongside others. Pamela’s is about building the confidence to contribute. Julia’s is about listening to people and helping their work be seen.
Together, they left me thinking about a question:
Where are we creating opportunities for people to do more than share their experience, to help shape the work itself?
That’s the kind of advocacy I want to keep highlighting here.
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