Stand Up to Cancer

Stand Up To Cancer (S↑2C or SU2C) is a charitable program of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). SU2C aims to raise significant funds for translational cancer research through online and televised efforts. Central to the program is a telethon that was televised by three major broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) in over 170 countries on September 5, 2008. SU2C raised over $100 million after that evening's broadcast. Funds collected by Stand Up To Cancer are then distributed by the American Association for Cancer Research.

Stand Up To Cancer was conceived of in autumn 2007, by a group of women who had been affected by cancer and believe that by merging the recourse of the media and entertainment industries into a single operation they would be able to fight against this disease in a more profound way.

Stand Up To Cancer was formally launched on May 27, 2008. Current members of the SU2C Council of Founders and Advisors (CFA) include Katie Couric, Sherry Lansing, Kathleen Lobb, Lisa Paulsen, Rusty Robertson, Sue Schwartz, Pamela Oas Williams, and Ellen Ziffren. All current members of the CFA were co-producers of the 2012 televised special. The late co-founder Laura Ziskin executive produced both the September 5, 2008 and September 10, 2010 broadcasts. Sung Poblete, Ph.D., R.N., has served as SU2C’s president and CEO since 2011. In the United Kingdom, Channel 4, along with Cancer Research UK, launched its own version of Stand Up To Cancer in October 2012 and again in 2014.

Stand Up To Cancer aims to raise awareness and bring about an understanding that everyone is connected by cancer. The statistic used most often by SU2C is from the American Cancer Society: one out of every two men and one out of every three women will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, meaning everyone is affected in some way, or will be.

The campaign has featured televised moments during World Series baseball games where fans literally "stand up to cancer" by rising and holding signs inscribed with the names of friends and loved ones who have struggled with the disease.

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