Ellen Stovall

Ellen Lewis Stovall Senior Health Policy Advisor to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, three-time Cancer Survivor, Patient Advocate Ellen Stovall, a leading patient advocate and key figure guiding public policy development related to improving the quality of cancer care in the United States, died in Rockville, Maryland on January 5, 2016, from cardiac complications related to late effects of her cancer treatments. She was 69 years old. Ellen Lewis was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and grew up in Honesdale. An accomplished pianist, Ellen attended Penn State University where she met John Stovall, of Washington, DC. She married John, and they moved to Gaithersburg, Maryland. At the age of 24, just six weeks after giving birth to their son, Jonathan, Ellen was diagnosed with Hodgkin''s Lymphoma. Following treatment, Ellen started the first cancer peer support group for young adults at Georgetown University Hospital. Ellen was elected to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship''s board of directors in 1988 and was the organization''s President and CEO from 1992-2008. She served as the organization''s Senior Health Policy Advisor from 2008-to the present. In 1993, Ellen was fundamental in the creation of the Cancer Leadership Council, a network of approximately 30 organizations cooperating in public policy activities. She was a founding member of the Institute of Medicine''s National Cancer Policy Board and its successor, the National Cancer Policy Forum. In 2006, Ellen co-edited an Institute of Medicine report titled, From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Transition. This historic volume chronicled the many challenges encountered by cancer survivors and their families after curative treatment ends and potential pathways to address these challenges and has served for the past decade as the definitive roadmap for survivorship research and care. One of Ellen''s most important contributions to cancer survivorship was her articulate and compelling advocacy for more research conducted by the National Cancer Institute on the long-term impact of surviving cancer. Her efforts ultimately resulted in the establishment of the Office of Cancer Survivorship at NCI. Ellen represented cancer survivors and articulated patient concerns during a six-year term on the National Cancer Institute''s National Cancer Advisory Board, a position to which she was appointed by President Bill Clinton. She served as a board member of The Leapfrog Group, a board member of the National Committee on Quality Assurance, and as a member of committees of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Ellen is survived by her husband, John, son Jonathan and daughter-in-law Briana Black of Bethesda, Maryland. She is also survived by her brother, Stephen Lewis, of New York City, sister-in-law, Alison Wylegala, nieces Julia and Ruth, and her aunt, Paula Roos of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Funeral services will be held at Congregation Beth Israel on Sunday, January 10 at 1 p.m. Interment following at Dyberry Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Ellen''s memory may be made to: NCCS 1010 Wayne Ave. Suite 315 Silver Spring, MD 20910 www.canceradvocacy.org or Congregation Beth Israel 615 Court St. Honesdale, PA 18431