For 52 years, ACCC has brought together thousands of health care professionals from across the nation representing all disciplines in oncology. Today, with over 46,000 members, ACCC's mission remains the same: to provide education, forums, and opportunities to promote the delivery of high-quality, equitable cancer care. Each year, the Association produces an ACCC Annual Report showcasing key educational programming and policy work it has produced for its member cancer programs and practices across the country. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Meagan O'Neill, MS, executive director of ACCC, about the 2025 ACCC Impact Report, highlighting advancements in financial advocacy, patient-centered care for Veterans with cancer, and access to cutting-edge therapies like CAR T-cell therapy.

"The most exciting thing about [the Impact Report] is it's a reflection of what's possible when the oncology community works together. Progress in cancer care is not going to happen through isolation. It's going to happen through collaboration, and that's what ACCC is here to support." – Meagan O'Neill, MS

Guest: Meagan O'Neill, MS
Executive Director
Association of Cancer Care Centers

Resources:

• 2025 ACCC Impact Report

• 2025 ACCC Innovator Award Winners

• Financial Advocacy Network

• Addressing Care Disparities for Veterans

In this episode of Oncology Unscripted, hosts Mark Liu and Deirdre Saulet speak with 2025 ACCC Innovator Award Winner Andrew Ambort, DO, a palliative care consulting physician at WellSpan Health. Dr. Ambort received the award for his team's innovation "Adopting Machine Learning-Enabled Decision Support to Improve Oncology End-of-Life Outcomes," which leveraged an existing module in the electronic health record to integrate a 12-month mortality risk into clinical workflows. He discusses the vision behind this initiative, plans for expansion into other specialties and service lines, and the human impact that early, integrated palliative care has had on WellSpan's patient community.

"[Caregivers] are so busy dealing with the chaos of end-of-life care...and then [they] get this bill at the end that surprises [them] too. It's not the experience we want for anyone, especially patients with cancer." – Mark Liu, MHA

"Unfortunately, the bills don't stop coming when people die...and it puts them right back in that [difficult] place. Being able to reduce that cost helps them grieve appropriately and get to a place where they [find acceptance] and prevent backsliding." – Andrew Ambort, DO

"The visibility is huge in terms of staying at the forefront of the oncology team's mind...[and reminding them] this is a resource we need to be leveraging and bringing into the fold." – Deirdre Saulet, PhD

Andrew Ambort, DO
Palliative Care Consulting Physician
WellSpan Health

To submit a topic of discussion to the podcast, please email mark.liu@mountsinai.org and deirdre.saulet@hellojasper.com.

Resources

• Precision With Purpose: Transforming Oncology Care Through Predictive Insights – Oncology Issues

• 2025 ACCC Innovator Award Winner: WellSpan Cancer Institute

• Spirituality and Cultural Humility: Core Components of Comprehensive Palliative Care

• Bringing Cancer Care Home: The Shaw at Home Model for Community-Based Oncology Palliative Care

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) cell therapy is a promising option for patients with advanced melanoma, but logistical and referral challenges can be a barrier to care. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Lilit Karapetyan, MD, MS, FACP, medical oncologist at Moffit Cancer Center and Research Institute, an authorized treatment center (ATC) for TIL cell therapy, and Raju Vaddepally, MD, hematologist-oncologist at Florida Cancer Specialists, a non-ATC, about the referral process. Both guests discuss the relationship between their cancer programs, offering actionable tips on how to streamline the identification and referral of melanoma patients for TIL therapy across institutions.

Guests:

Lilit Karapetyan, MD, MS, FACP
Medical Oncologist
Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute
Tampa, FL

Raju Vaddepally, MD
Hematologist-Oncologist
Florida Cancer Specialists
Naples, FL

"It is extremely important that providers think about this earlier, because the huge issue that we have with TIL therapy is that we get a lot of patients referred but unfortunately, they are no longer fit to proceed with the therapy." - Lilit Karapetyan, MD, MS, FACP

"Cancer care can be so fragmented and always requires multidisciplinary input, whether it be within the town or going to an academic center, so we do have a specialized department in which they handle all these referrals." - Raju Vaddepally, MD

Resources

• ACCC TIL Therapy Resources

• ACCCBuzz Blog: Streamlining TIL Cell Therapy: ACCC Resources to Improve Referral Pathways and Academic–Community Coordination

• CANCER BUZZ: Developments in TIL Cell Therapy