Cancer survivors from across the country recently gathered in Austin, Texas, for the first LIVESTRONG(tm) Summit. Created and hosted by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), the LIVESTRONG Summit was a three-day event held Friday, Oct. 27 through Sunday, Oct. 29, designed to organize, inspire and direct the efforts of cancer survivors from across the country to change the face of cancer survivorship.

Led by a variety of notable speakers, including LaSalle D. Leffall, Jr., M.D., chair of the President's Cancer Panel and cancer survivors Senator John Kerry (Mass.), Elizabeth Edwards, author and wife of Senator John Edwards (N.C.), and Lance Armstrong, LIVESTRONG Summit delegates collaborated in regional groups to identify challenges, brainstorm possible solutions and develop personal action plans to broaden awareness and impact the unmet physical, emotional and practical needs of people living with cancer. Delegates are expected to take their knowledge back home and apply their action plans locally.

Garden City resident Jack Rogers was one of approximately 700 delegates selected from more than 1,500 applicants to attend the LIVESTRONG Summit. Delegates - representing those battling cancer, caregivers and those who have lost a loved one to the disease - were chosen based on their leadership ability and involvement in the cancer community.

"We've made tremendous strides in the fight against cancer, but it's not enough," Armstrong said. "Every day, Americans continue to suffer and die from cancer, and that's unacceptable. It's up to us to show that we're out there fighting cancer every day - and the LIVESTRONG Summit is the first step in that direction."

"Participating in the LIVESTRONG Summit was truly a gift," said Rogers. "After all the Garden City community did for my family while I was in the race of my life against cancer, it was the least I could do to pay forward all the thoughts, prayers and wonderful acts of kindness - I wouldn't be here without them. Through the LIVESTRONG Summit and its progeny, I am able to further that effort and also help others fight against the same seemingly insurmountable challenges."