Rare Cancer Day is an international day of awareness spearheaded by the NORD Rare Cancer Coalition®. Held on September 30th each year, Rare Cancer Day shines a light on the rare cancer community and the unique challenges faced by rare cancer patients, caregivers, families, and researchers.
The NORD Rare Cancer Coalition is comprised of more than 30 rare cancer-focused advocacy organizations and was co-founded by TargetCancer Foundation’s CEO Jim Palma to build a unified voice around rare cancer advocacy. Jim remains Co-Chair of the Coalition, and TargetCancer Foundation is proud to be a founding member.
Rare Cancer Day Action Center
Explore the activities below for ways to get involved in Rare Cancer Day.
Listen and Learn
Join TargetCancer Foundation’s Rare Cancer Day webinar, Patients and Practitioners As Partners: Initial Steps for Navigating a Rare Cancer Diagnosis at 1pm ET on Monday, September 30. This next event in our 2024 Lunch & Learn series will feature rare cancer patient advocate Dana Deighton and Dr. Mina Nikanjam. The discussion will focus on the initial steps that patients and providers can take together to help navigate the unique challenges of a rare cancer diagnosis. Register and submit your questions now!
We are pleased to share that a bipartisan resolution was introduced to Congress for designation of September 30, 2024 as Rare Cancer Day. Thank you to Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Derek Kilmer, (D-WA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) for their efforts and support.
The Rare Cancer Day Congressional Resolution is the result of years of work led by the NORD Rare Cancer Coalition, co-founded by TCF CEO Jim Palma. To learn how it all began and how Rare Cancer Day has evolved, read TCF CEO Jim Palma’s OnTarget blog post.
Explore the new educational materials on our website, focused on topics including clinical trials and biomarker testing.
Learn about TCF-001 TRACK, TCF’s patient-driven precision medicine clinical trial focused on all rare cancers.
Read the abstract and view the poster from the 2024 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, where we publicly presented data from the TCF-001 TRACK study for the first time.
Listen to the inspiring story of patient advocate and speaker Katie Doble, told as the Patient Keynote at our 2023 Think Tank on Advancing Precision Medicine in Rare Cancers.
Watch the first webinar in the 2024 Lunch & Learn series held in January 2024, Patients as Partners in Rare Cancer Research. TCF CEO Jim Palma was joined by colleagues from three partner organizations representing different rare cancer research initiatives. This discussion provided information about many different types of rare cancer research efforts that patients can participate in, and how those involved can play a pivotal role in driving breakthroughs for care.
Watch our three short 15th Anniversary videos! Learn about TCF’s history; the evolution of our research efforts and the remarkable progress made across the rare cancer research landscape over the past 15 years; and hear from five community members as they reflect on the impact TCF has had on them and their families.
Rare Cancer Day Webinar
Zebracorn: A Rare Patient's Story
Act
Make a donation to support TargetCancer Foundation and the work we do in support of rare cancer research and patients.
Share our Rare Cancer Day infographics with your networks, tagging @TargetCancer and using the hashtag #RareCancerDay.
Share your patient or caregiver experience here.
Provide our information sheet about TCF-001 TRACK to friends and family impacted by rare cancer.
Hold a fundraiser in your community or online in honor of Rare Cancer Day to benefit TCF.
Follow us, like, and share our posts on Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Visit Cloztalk to buy TCF swag to start conversations about our work and help raise awareness.
Rare Cancer Day Infographics
