With AACR’s Help, Stand Up To Cancer Readies Fifth “Roadblock” Telecast

A whirlwind of activity and excitement is currently whipping through Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York, and many places in between. Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C), the fundraising powerhouse launched by entertainment and broadcasting leaders as an initiative of the Entertainment Industry Foundation, is getting ready for its fifth telecast.

Big-name celebrities are about to speak to the public about how they can help in the battle against cancer. Actors and musicians will be staffing the phones to take pledges. And as the Scientific Partner to SU2C, the American Association for Cancer Research is on board to provide scientific review and guidance.

The facts, as well as the stars, will come out on Friday, Sept. 9, at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific/7 p.m. Central. In the United States, the show will air on the ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC networks and a host of cable channels. Stand Up To Cancer Canada will simultaneously broadcast a Canadian-inclusive telecast on the four major English-language networks—CBC, City, CTV, and Global—plus a number of Canadian services. A Spanish-language version will air on Galavision and other Spanish channels, and the show will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube.

With that many people watching, the messages about cancer have to be right.

“We work with the writers and producers to provide the viewing public with the most accurate and up-to-date scientific information,” says Margaret Foti, PhD, MD (hc), AACR’s chief executive officer. “The AACR is regarded as the authoritative resource in all subfields of cancer research, and we are honored to work with SU2C and the show producers to bring this information to the public in the most informative and useful way possible. Working with SU2C gives us the opportunity to impart a great deal of information while showing the personal and emotional side of cancer.”

Fortunately, there’s good news to talk about.

“Tremendous progress is being made in cancer research and treatment, in areas such as immunotherapy and precision medicine, among others, and we want to communicate that message, as well as the fact that we still have enormous challenges ahead of us to markedly reduce cancer incidence and mortality,” Foti says.

If the content of past shows is any guide, stories will be presented of people who are surviving cancer, and top talent will offer heartfelt tributes to those we have lost.

SU2C recently announced a long list of celebrity participants, including Ben Affleck, Dierks Bentley, Bradley Cooper, Marcia Cross, Viola Davis, Celine Dion, Josh Gad, Zach Galifianakis, Jon Hamm, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Anna Kendrick, Matthew McConaughey, Niecy Nash, Emma Stone, Eric Stonestreet, Keith Urban, and Kristen Wiig, among others.

The AACR has been Scientific Partner to SU2C since its inception – and first telecast – in 2008. With the support of the public and generous donors, SU2C has made grants to 19 multi-institutional Dream Teams of top researchers, other research teams, and 36 Innovative Research Grants to individual early-career investigators.

The AACR works with SU2C’s blue-ribbon Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to conduct rigorous, competitive review processes to identify the best research proposals to recommend for funding. The AACR manages grants and provides scientific oversight in conjunction with the SAC.

The telecast is aimed mainly at the public, but this year, there’s a new element that people involved in cancer research may find intriguing – #Reasons2StandUp. It encourages people to join the show and give their personal reasons to “stand up” to cancer, such as the loss of friend or family member. Many people in cancer research are motivated by just such a loss (or losses). Almost everyone is affected by cancer, either directly or indirectly.

SU2C is looking for these “reasons,” along with photos or videos to illustrate them. Some of these will be used on the air.

Share your reason on social media with #Reasons2StandUp. See the webpage http://www.su2cshow.org/pages/reasons to learn more.