Esophageal Cancer Action Network, Inc.

ECAN’s mission is to save lives by increasing awareness about the link between Heartburn and Cancer, promoting early detection, supporting medical innovation to prevent, detect, treat and cure Esophageal Cancer and linking patients and families to valuable information and compassionate support. This national non-profit organization, based in Baltimore, is led by a board of directors of top physicians, business leaders, patients, and families that have been touched by Esophageal Cancer.

History:  ECAN was founded in 2009 by Mindy Mintz Mordecai and an impressive group of dedicated professionals after she lost the father of her two young children, and her husband of 14 years, to Esophageal Cancer. Angry and frustrated because she believes that her husband and thousands more like him might never have died had they been aware of the link between Heartburn and Cancer, Mordecai is determined to prevent others from suffering the pain Esophageal Cancer has caused her family.

Accomplishments: Over the past 13 years, ECAN has made significant strides in the fight against Esophageal Cancer. Among ECAN’s successes:

• Research Funding: ECAN successfully advocated for Esophageal Cancer to be included in the multi-million-dollar Peer-Reviewed Cancer Research Program administered by the Department of Defense. The result has been the addition of more than $7 million in new funding for Esophageal Cancer research in just two years, with many millions more expected in the future. ECAN's advocacy caused a 15% increase in the federal research budget for Esophageal Cancer in the first year of its advocacy.
• Critical Research: ECAN successfully advocated with the National Cancer Institute to change course and include Esophageal Cancer in its genome mapping project known as The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). The findings of that research, published in the journal Nature in 2017, provided the pathway that led to four approvals by the Food and Drug Administration for immunotherapy for Esophageal Cancer patients.
• A Guide for Patients: With input from physicians around the country, ECAN developed an innovative Guide for Patients providing comprehensive and clear information about the link between Heartburn and Cancer. The Guide is designed to help patients advocate for their own health care and is available as a free download from the ECAN website in both English and Spanish.
• Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month: Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month: ECAN led the effort to have April designated as Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month in states throughout the United States. With ECAN’s support over the past 13 years, more than 175 gubernatorial declarations of EC Awareness Month have been achieved throughout the country and in some other nations, as well. April is now observed as EC Awareness Month by companies, organizations, and governments across the nation – and the world. Through its digital outreach, social media advertising, and the free distribution of posters, brochures, and wristbands for Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month, ECAN has reached many millions with its life-saving message that Heartburn can cause Cancer.

For more information, visit www.ecan.org