“As a nearly 20-year ovarian cancer survivor with a steadfast passion for eliminating health disparities and helping patients navigate the often complex health-care delivery system, Mary Scroggins is an inspiration, and her stellar contributions are highly deserving of this recognition from the cancer research community,” said Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the AACR.
Mary Jackson Scroggins
Following her diagnosis with stage I ovarian cancer in 1996, Ms. Scroggins turned her efforts toward cancer advocacy, particularly as the Co-Founder of In My Sister’s Care, an organization focused on eliminating health disparities and on improving gynecologic cancer awareness and care for medically underserved women, and as Director of The Pathways Project, an organization that puts people at the center of health-care research and delivery.
In addition to her own advocacy efforts, Ms. Scroggins has shown incredible dedication in support of the AACR’s efforts to address cancer health disparities, serving as a volunteer leader at three separate AACR Cancer Health Disparities conferences and participating in the AACR congressional briefing on cancer disparities in 2013. She has also participated in and has served as a mentor for the AACR Scientist↔Survivor Program and served for 8 years as an AACR/ASCO Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop faculty member.
Ms. Scroggins shared her story as a long-term ovarian cancer survivor in the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2013, a cornerstone in the AACR’s efforts to increase the public understanding of cancer and the importance of cancer research and federal research funding to public health. Ms. Scroggins also recently joined the Editorial Advisory Board of Cancer Today, the AACR’s magazine for cancer patients, survivors, and their family members and friends. In addition, she served as a member of the judging panel for the inaugural AACR June L. Biedler Prize for Cancer Journalism, which was established to honor and reward outstanding journalistic coverage of cancer and cancer research that enhances public understanding of cancer. ■
