I remember it like it was yesterday: It was my first American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. I was a PGY-1 and I was presenting about gastric cancer in Hispanic individuals and the disparities that this population experiences at the time of diagnosis and treatment. I walked into McCormick Place in Chicago and I was stunned; I was at the epicenter of innovation in oncology. I slowly moved in between the crowd and made it to my poster walk.
Quickly, I made it to my poster board, and my mentor helped me hang my first poster at ASCO. I was proud of the work but terrified of not knowing the answer to a question or running into one of my oncology role models. As time passed, I felt more comfortable talking about my research findings.
When the cortisol came down, I realized that I was in a section that did not make much sense for my research. I was in the early therapeutics poster hall; first-in-human studies were next to my humbled retrospective review. A few minutes later, I noticed someone with a poster on cancer health disparities, particularly financial toxicity. She was wearing bright red glasses and was interested in the same things I was; she was a radiation oncology resident.
