Roswell Park Recognized by National Foundation for Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Efforts

Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center today welcomed representatives from the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Congressional Families® Program, along with U.S. Representatives Tim Kennedy and Jim McGovern and a representative of the Seneca Nation of Indians, for a special visit recognizing Roswell Park’s leadership in cancer prevention, screening, early detection, and community outreach.

Roswell Park was honored in April with the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s prestigious Carolyn “Bo” Aldigé Visionary Award, recognizing Roswell Park’s leadership and measurable impact in advancing cancer prevention and early detection. The award was presented during a Congressional Families Program event on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., where President and CEO Candace S. Johnson, PhD, traveled with several team members to accept the award.

During their time at Roswell Park today, the visiting officials met with staff from the Community Outreach and Engagement team, who are on the front lines of cancer prevention for Western New York communities; toured Roswell Park’s groundbreaking Early Detection Driven to You (EDDY) mobile screening centers, each a first-of-its-kind resource to screen Western New York communities for the most common invasive cancers; learned about services and outreach provided through Roswell Park’s Department of Indigenous Cancer Health; and heard from experts from the Cancer Prevention & Control and Health Behavior teams on evidence-based initiatives focused on preventing cancer through tools like HPV vaccination and reducing use of tobacco and vaping products among youth.

“We were honored and proud to host the Congressional Families Program today,” says Candace S. Johnson, PhD, President, CEO and M&T Bank Presidential Chair in Leadership at Roswell Park. “We’re reaching people where they are with resources they need and trust. Thanks to our many partners and supporters, including Lisa and Jim McGovern, Katie and Tim Kennedy and everyone from the Prevent Cancer Foundation, we know we are saving lives and paving the way for many healthy tomorrows.”

“Institutions like Roswell Park are driving the breakthroughs that will bring us closer to a world where cancer is preventable, detectable and beatable for all. This past April, the Congressional Families Program was proud to recognize Dr. Johnson and the entire Roswell Park team for their leadership, innovation and unwavering commitment to saving lives. We’re grateful to be here in Buffalo today, seeing that impact firsthand,” says Lisa McGovern, Executive Director of the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Congressional Families Program.

“At the Prevent Cancer Foundation, we know that prevention and early detection only work when people can access it. Roswell Park’s commitment to meeting communities where they are — from mobile screening to Indigenous cancer health programs—is helping close critical gaps in care. Their commitment to serving all populations is making a meaningful difference for families across Western New York and beyond,” says Erica Childs Warner, MPH, Managing Director of Research, Education and Outreach at the Prevent Cancer Foundation.

“Katie and I were thrilled to nominate Roswell, and even happier to see the institute win. Roswell wasn’t just chosen because of its history as the first institution in the world dedicated solely to cancer treatment and research,” said Congressman Tim Kennedy. “It was chosen because this is a team that sees the big picture. They don’t just treat the disease. They look at cancer from every angle. From community prevention and early screening all the way through to treatment and survivorship. They exemplify the spirit of the City of Good Neighbors.”

“Western New Yorkers know that with Roswell Park in our backyard, we have access to world-class care and research,” said Katie Kennedy. “I was honored to present the Carolyn ‘Bo’ Aldigé Visionary Award on behalf of the Congressional Families Program in recognition of their exceptional work to free our community of cancer and allow more families to create more new memories together. As a medical professional and Buffalonian, I’m proud to see our region leading the way in new treatments that will one day lead to a cure.”

“Lisa and I are so grateful to have visited Roswell Park alongside Tim and Katie Kennedy to celebrate the incredible work happening here in Buffalo to prevent cancer, detect it early, and harness the power of community to help people facing a diagnosis,” said Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern. “Receiving the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Carolyn ‘Bo’ Aldigé Visionary Award is an amazing testament to the groundbreaking research being done at Roswell Park and the team of leaders who are saving lives with their work. From mobile screenings and early detection programs to the Elevate Salon and complimentary wigs, this is a place that meets patients as people and treats them with compassion, dignity, and hope. That kind of care changes lives—and Lisa and I were so grateful to be able to honor Roswell Park today.”

“My cancer journey started with my wife, Mary, who was diagnosed with breast cancer,” says cancer survivor Todd Gates, a current Tribal Councilor and former President of the Seneca Nation of Indians. “When someone has cancer it affects the whole family. We caught it early and sought treatment here at Roswell. When I was diagnosed with prostate cancer my own personal journey began, and the services here at Roswell guided Mary and I to eventually beating cancer. Mary, who was cleared earlier, waited for me and we rang the bell together along with our family and friends. The screening services provided here often lead to early detection and that is so key to reaching better outcomes for cancer.”

Broad range of dedicated programs designed to save lives

Through decades of sustained investment in community-based education, innovative screening programs and equitable access initiatives, Roswell Park is helping more individuals reduce their cancer risk or detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages.

Dedicated efforts from specially trained experts across Roswell Park include:

• Early Detection Driven to You (EDDY) Mobile Screening Programs: In 2022, Roswell Park launched its EDDY screening program with a mobile unit equipped with a low-dose CT scanner to scan people at high risk for lung cancer — the first effort of its kind in New York State. Since then the program has completed more than 3,200 screenings for individuals from 169 ZIP codes, enabled in part by partnerships with the Cattaraugus, Tonawanda and Tuscarora tribal territories and fire departments across the region. The program added an EDDY Breast and Prostate Cancer Screening Mobile Screening Center in December 2025. In just a few months since that launch, the new EDDY Breast and Prostate program has screened more than 600 individuals, providing care in 28 different languages.
• Building Partnerships to Enhance Access to Cancer Prevention and Screening Resources: From the newly named Roswell Park Broadview Community Outreach and Engagement Center at 907 Michigan Ave. in Buffalo’s Fruit Belt neighborhood to specialized teams working at partner sites across Western New York, Roswell Park brings cancer education, resources and navigation to care to communities most at risk for cancer. More than 18,000 people have visited 907 Michigan Ave. since October 2023, across more than 1,000 events involving some 400 neighborhood organizations and community groups. Over the past year, 10 patient navigators based at all Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Western New York navigated individuals to 2,218 screening encounters focused on early detection of breast, colorectal and lung cancer — with nearly 10,000 screened since the program was initiated in 2017. And through initiatives such as Esperanza y Vida and partnerships with organizations including the National Witness Project, the team delivers evidence-based cancer education and increases screening rates in communities disproportionately affected by cancer.
• Indigenous Cancer Health Initiatives: Roswell Park’s Department of Indigenous Cancer Health — the only program of its kind at a National Cancer Institute-designated US cancer center — is dedicated to impactful outreach and engagement with Indigenous communities, tribal and Nation leadership, and a wide range of partner organizations around the world. The team’s work to foster trust and accessibility in cancer education, prevention, services and care collectively reached 4,460 individuals in 2025, across 80 different activities. Highlights include a Women’s Cancer Wellness Summit and grant-funded efforts supported by Lilly and the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation to bring lung health resources to tribal workforces and expanded patient navigation services to Native nations across North America.
• Tobacco Cessation Resources and Research: From its pioneering role in the research establishing the connection between cigarettes and cancer dating back to the 1930s to the more than 600,000 New York residents who have become smoke-free or vape-free through the New York State Quitline, Roswell Park has helped inform, support, and advocate for people across the state. The Quitline, a free and confidential lifeline offering individualized coaching, medications, self-help materials, texting programs and additional resources for those seeking to overcome addiction to commercial tobacco products, will soon hit a milestone of responding to 3 million calls.

“Our EDDY Mobile Breast and Prostate Cancer Screening Center launched just six months ago. In that short time period, one person screened through our EDDY Mobile Breast and Prostate Cancer Screening Center and diagnosed with an early-stage cancer through the program has already completed treatment — exactly the kind of outcome we hope to make possible through early detection,” says Dr. Johnson. “These impacts underscore the need for cancer information and services in communities around Roswell Park, and they show the power of meeting people where they are with accessible, community-based cancer screening. We did not do this work alone, and we are grateful to our partners nationally and locally.”

The Prevent Cancer Foundation is the only U.S.-based nonprofit organization solely dedicated to cancer prevention and early detection, working to save lives through research, education and outreach. Prevent Cancer’s past support for efforts at Roswell Park includes a competitive grant for its AIR (Awareness, Information and Resources) in Lung Cancer program and a 2025 Partnership Award supporting community-based patient navigation and culturally responsive services.

Significant investments from New York State have also supported Roswell Park’s mobile cancer screening and outreach programs, advocated for by Gov. Kathy Hochul and legislators in order to advance state health policy and goals.