City Cancer Challenge

We’re supporting cities around the world as they work to improve access to equitable, quality cancer care.

[OncoDaily @oncodaily]

OncoCorridor,

When war closes doors,
we open corridors!

In conflict-affected regions, cancer care is often the first thing lost. OncoCorridor bridges that gap, connecting cancer patients in conflict zones to treatment centers worldwide.🌍

Join us in Geneva for this vital launch during #WHA79.

📌Isabel Mestres (@IsabelMestres)

Chief Executive Director, @CCan_org, Switzerland 🇨🇭

📅 May 18th, 15:00 - 18:00
📍 The Ritz-Carlton Hotel de la Paix, Geneva, Switzerland 🇨🇭

#OncoCorridor #Cancer #GlobalOncology #WHA79 #GlobalHealth #OncoDaily #MedX #Mednews #MedEd

[NCD Alliance @ncdalliance]

Ahead of #WHA79, NCD Alliance, @CCan_org, and the Partnership for International Politics and Diplomacy for Health convened a webinar calling for #NCDs, including #MentalHealth and neurological conditions, to be placed at the centre of global health architecture reform.

🎙️ “How can we have an international [health] system that is responding more to the future, and not just to the past?” — a question raised by Anders Nordström in his opening remarks, framed the conversation and prompted speakers to reflect on what we can build on and how we can address current gaps to make the international health system fit for today’s realities and future health needs.

You can read the key highlights from the discussion and 📽️ watch the webinar recording here 👉 https://t.co/vDsVtuXgIV

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

.@CCan_org is working city by city so that where people live doesn’t determine whether they survive breast cancer,
implementing the @WHO GBCI & its recommendations to make a difference for patients. And now, expanding further

Don't miss it 👉 https://t.co/i7aeLEPyQO

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

2.5 million lives could be saved by 2040. That is the target behind the @WHO GBCI.

@CCan_org is expanding its city-level implementation to reach more women, in more cities, through more health systems

Be part of the announcement at #WHA79 in Geneva 👉 https://t.co/PTD8nYhDv4

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

80,000+ women reached. 450+ professionals trained. 4 cities with locally led action plans.

Three years of C/Can implementing the @WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI). And now, we're expanding.
Join the announcement at #WHA79 on 18 May 👇

🔗https://t.co/PTD8nYhDv4

[CancerWorld @CancerWorldmag]

🌍Global health is very good at diagnosing problems. But it is far less effective at making sure solutions actually reach patients.

That gap, between plans and reality, is where Isabel Mestres has chosen to work. As CEO of City Cancer Challenge, she is not focused on theory or high-level commitments alone, but on something much harder: 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.

Her journey was not linear. From the private sector to global travel across Latin America, Asia, and Africa, to media and international development, she kept returning to one question: where does impact actually happen?

That search eventually led her to cancer care — a field defined by both innovation and deep inequality. Where outcomes can still depend entirely on where you are born.

What stayed with her was simple, and unsettling:

Patients being told they may have cancer… and then left without a clear path to diagnosis or treatment.

That reality became her turning point.

Instead of staying at the level of plans, she focused on systems where change can actually be built starting with cities. Not because they are simple, but because they make the full patient journey visible: where care breaks, where coordination fails, and where it can be fixed.

Her work is grounded in a simple belief: 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒃𝒂𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒉.

Not more strategies. Not more reports. But systems that deliver for patients. 💡

In a field full of thinkers, she represents something rarer.

The one who builds. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒓.

Read the full CancerWorld interview by Gevorg Tamamyan below 👇

https://t.co/tKnLo7hWL4

@oncodaily | @GevTamamyan | @CCan_org | @IsabelMestres

#IsabelMestres, #CityCancerChallenge, #GlobalHealth, #CancerCare, #HealthEquity, #Oncology, #HealthSystems, 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒆.

[OncoDaily @oncodaily]

CancerWorld - Isabel Mestres on Closing the Gap Between Cancer Care Plans and Reality

@CancerWorldmag @GevTamamyan @CCan_org @IsabelMestres

https://t.co/S5z6mifkko

#OncoDaily #Oncology #Cancer #Health #Medicine #MedX #MedTwitter

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

Three years in, @CCan_org and @WHO are expanding the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, reaching more health systems, more cities, and more #women in need of better #BreastCancer care

Join us at #WHA79, Geneva, May 18. 👇
https://t.co/PTD8nYhDv4

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

The city of tomorrow thrives on collaboration.

By sharing knowledge across cities and borders, we strengthen cancer care locally while contributing to more equitable global health outcomes.

➡️ See how collaboration accelerates progress.

#ImpactThatMatters

[Fundación Foro Nacional de Cáncer @FNCChile]

Nuestra Fundación se suma a la campaña global “Mujeres y Salud” de @CCan_org Nos enorgullece que nuestra directora ejecutiva, @carolinagoic sea protagonista.

Cada año 2,3 millones de mujeres mueren prematuramente de cáncer.
800.000 vidas podrían salvarse con mejor acceso.

[Fundación Foro Nacional de Cáncer @FNCChile]

@carolinagoic contribuye a una atención oncológica más equitativa a través de las #políticaspúblicas.

Su liderazgo demuestra lo que se puede lograr.

Unámonos a @CCan_org para hacerlo realidad.

Mujeres Legislando la Salud. Fuerza Global.

#WomenAndHealth #CancerCare #LeyCáncer

[Fundación Foro Nacional de Cáncer @FNCChile]

Conozcan a Gloria Orji. Superviviente. Líder comunitaria. Agente del cambio. Tras su propio diagnóstico de cáncer en #Nigeria, convirtió su experiencia en acción.
Creó una red para garantizar que ninguna mujer se
enfrentara sola al cáncer.

Unámonos a @CCan_org
#WomenAndHealth

[Fundación Foro Nacional de Cáncer @FNCChile]

La Dra. Miriam Mutebi está transformando la atención oncológica en Kenia.

Investigar con enfoque en mujeres salva vidas.

Es hora de desafiar el statu quo e invertir en lo que realmente importa.

#WomenAndHealth #HealthEquity #Kenya

[UgandaCancer Society @UgCancerSociety]

Yesterday, Kampala officially became the 18th city globally and the 6th in Africa to join the @CCan_org network.

We are proud to have been part of the signatories to the MoU alongside @MinofHealthUG , @KCCAUG & @UgandaCancerIns
This is just the beginning. #TogetherAgainstCancer

[Palliative Care Association of Uganda (PCAU) @PCAUganda]

Yesterday we joined @KCCAUG and other stakeholders at the official launch of Kampala as the 18th city globally and the 6th in Africa to join the City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org (C/Can) Network.

This achievement reflects a strong commitment to transforming the patients cancer journey through improving access to care.

At @PCAU we are delighted to be apart of this network.

Through this platform, we look forward to strengthening awareness, expanding access of holistic, compassionate care for all who need it.

#PalliativeCareForAllinUganda

[Fundación Foro Nacional de Cáncer @FNCChile]

El liderazgo de la Dra. Nia Sharikadze refleja 30 años de experiencia y compromiso con la salud.

Desde Tiflis 🇬🇪, lidera decisiones clave en el tratamiento del cáncer en su país.

Cuando las mujeres lideran, las comunidades avanzan.

Únete a @ccan_org
#WomenAndHealth #CancerCare

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

Through the CAD Indicators, C/Can tracks how cities contribute to knowledge generation, collaboration, and research leadership helping elevate local expertise and strengthen evidence from LMIC contexts.

➡️ Explore how C/Can cities share and lead knowledge.

#ImpactThatMatters

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

Supporting women’s leadership in oncology strengthens health systems and improves care for patients everywhere.

➡️ Learn how leadership shapes better cancer care.

Women and Health. Global Strength.

#ImpactThatMatters

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

The CAD Indicators help C/Can and cities track whether training opportunities are reaching those who need them most and whether capacity-building efforts translate into long-term leadership and system change.

Because investing in people is investing in care.

#ImpactThatMatters

[City Cancer Challenge @CCan_org]

The city of tomorrow is one where #PublicHealth systems protect people: medically and financially

Strengthening access to #CancerCare = reducing the economic burden on families & building systems that make treatment attainable for all

#ImpactThatMatters