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Go for the Goal

November 18, 2022

December 2022

Aaron Gerds, MD

Aaron Gerds, MD
Deputy Director for Clinical Research, Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute Associate Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University

 

 

For hematologists, December not only marks another change in the seasons, but it also means it’s time for the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. Instinctively, like the swallows of Capistrano, hematologists from all over the world descend upon a city that is waiting with open arms to house the unparalleled comradery, advancements, and excitement that the meeting brings. It just so happens that this year’s annual global event coincides with another global phenomenon, the World Cup. The meeting organizers, with just cause, are capitalizing on the quadrennial football tournament by providing viewing areas for the game and even an opportunity to snag a hematology football jersey!

Despite the unchecked excitement boiling over for both seminal events, the host locations have drawn criticism – even calls for boycott – because of local politics. While none of the World Cup contenders have pulled out of the tournament in protest, some are trying to draw attention to human rights issues that have marred the tournament. For example, the national team badge and signature white chevrons of Denmark’s kit are faded into the same single color as the shirt, making a FIFA-compliant on-field statement. Likewise, with the trigger laws and abortion policies that went into effect in Louisiana after the after the Supreme Court ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade in June (see our October feature article about how this ruling affects hematologists and their patients), there were calls in the hematology community to pull the meeting from New Orleans in response. I can’t help but see the parallels between these worldwide events and reactions.

Since I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool football fan, I must fall back on ice hockey for inspiration. Wayne Gretzky, also known as “The Great One,” is credited with saying, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.” I would imagine such sage advice could be applied to football in kind. Yet, before you can even take a shot, you must be in the game.

Like many others, when I learned of the trigger laws in Louisiana, I reflexively turned to see if the annual meeting would be moved as a collective statement in protest of these policies. I had the same gut reaction the year before when voting restrictions were put in place ahead of the annual meeting in Georgia. However, if we are boycotting (and not in the game), how can we take any shots, let alone score any goals?

A message from ASH President, Jane N. Winter, MD, set the rationale for why coming off the bench effects more change than sitting on the sidelines in protest.

“Boycotts often cause further harm to the communities that suffer the most under the laws in question, and we do not believe that withholding business from New Orleans is the best way to effect change,” she wrote. “We must counter bad legislation with advocacy and education so that legislators understand the harms that can result from repressive laws that interfere with our ability as physicians to deliver the best care.”

Again, if we don’t get in the game and take shots, we will never score any goals.

Ultimately, that is why we are all here. We are here to score goals for our patients with blood diseases, and that can take many forms, all of which are on display at the annual meeting. It can be a scientific discovery that unlocks the deep, dark secrets of disease obscured from human sight. It can take the form of a breakthrough therapeutic that revolutionizes the treatment of illness, allowing patients to live better and longer. It can also take the form of legislation that protects patients or improves access to care and medications.

In the past, hematologists have worked on a national level to advocate for such things as increased funding from the National Institutes of Health, oral chemotherapy parity, and sickle cell disease initiatives. Now, many of the issues that face our patients are regulated locally, making state-level advocacy more critical than ever. We need to think about these issues on both the macro and micro scales.

Just like every other community, hematologists do not universally agree on everything. I realize that some issues can be very personal, and that people need to make decisions consistent with their own values. However, advocacy itself is universal, and we can all find something to fight for on behalf of our patients. Jumping into the fray of voting laws or reproductive rights may not be something that you are interested in, but there are countless options for advocacy. How about highlighting insurance reform efforts to combat the inequities of care created by our current health care system? You can advocate for better funding for biomedical science. Or perhaps draw attention to the mounting financial instability of the Medicare physician payment system? The list of items goes on and on.

The key is to find an issue that you are passionate about, as it will drive your involvement. A top tip is to join ASH’s Grassroots Network. The regular emails and alerts have kept me on top of emerging issues and given me tools to easily engage with my elected officials when I jump on the field and get in the game.

I hope to see you in New Orleans, and feel free to join me in grabbing a hematology football jersey. We are not going to score on every shot that we take, but we need to get on the field and in the game to go for the goal.

Aaron Gerds, MD
Editor-in-Chief


The content of the Editor’s Corner is the opinion of the author and does not represent the official position of the American Society of Hematology unless so stated.

Have a comment about this editorial? Let us know what you think; we welcome your feedback. Email the editor your response, along with your full name and professional affiliation if you’d like us to consider publishing it, at [email protected].

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