The 'Count Us In' Pact
In cancer care, there is a silent crisis that transcends borders and healthcare systems: the crisis of the uncounted.
Behind the statistics are millions of people in rural villages, urban settlements, and underserved communities worldwide who face cancer without ever being recorded. Why? Because they lack access to a biopsy report or surgery, a privilege of geography and resources. They are missing from the data, absent from policy debates, and forgotten by the systems designed to help them. They are, for all practical purposes, invisible.
On November 12, the global community said, “no more.” The 2025 Global Colorectal Cancer Congress, “Count Us In: Data, Dignity, and Disruption,” was a watershed moment. We brought together hundreds of patient advocates, survivors, healthcare providers, and policy makers from across the globe with a unified mission: to restore visibility and dignity to every person facing cancer.
Our theme was a direct response to the powerful call for change from our 2024 Congress attendees from South Africa, Mexico, Malaysia, and beyond. It not only served as a three-part blueprint for change, but as a demand for justice:
Data is the non-negotiable foundation. We cannot solve a problem we cannot see. We must build registries that capture every patient, not just those with a pathology report.
Dignity is the core principle. To be counted is to be seen, to have your struggle acknowledged, and your right to care affirmed.
Disruption is our method. We will challenge and change the outdated systems that created these blind spots, elevating local solutions and forging new partnerships.
This Congress was more than a series of talks; it was a launch pad. We heard from frontline registry leaders, global patient advocates, and pioneering researchers who are already drawing the blueprint for a more equitable future.
Participants were encouraged to engage, not just as attendees, but as future collaborators. And to ask themselves, “What is my role in making every patient count and making every patient visible? How can I be a part of the disruption?” And at the close of the Congress, we made a collective pledge to move from insight to action and make sure all people with cancer are counted.
The conversation has started, but the real work begins now. Please join us in signing the ‘Count Us In’ Pact.