Left to Right: Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Educational Engagement Postdoctoral Scholar and Cancer Voices Project Leader Craig Richard, and Cancer Voices Project Leader Azlan Guttenberg Smith
Cancer not only affects the lives of survivors, but also those around them. Led by Cancer Center at Illinois (CCIL) Associate Director for Education Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, Craig Richard, and Azlan Guttenberg Smith, the Cancer Voices project aims to bring together the perspectives of cancer survivors, families, doctors, and other medical professionals involved in treatment. This project is supported by the CCIL.
The focus of this project is to tell the stories that often go untold and help people find a better understanding of each other. For example, doctors may not know the stories of survivors, and survivors might not know everything that doctors go through either. The goal is to make these stories accessible to everyone and help improve cancer care for all.
The project team will conduct interviews to hear these voices, which will then be transcribed and assembled into a live performance. For those who are interested in being interviewed, learn more here.
The team plans to present the finished product at the 2026 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting. The project team recently appeared in the news on WCIA. Watch their interview and learn more about the Cancer Voices project here.
In April, 2026, the Cancer Voices Project is planning a live performance on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus. The team is conducting interviews (approximately an hour long) with people interested in contributing through the end of October 2025.
Editor’s Note:
This article was written by Florence Lin, CCIL Communications Intern