About the Reid R Sacco Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Alliance
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The Reid R. Sacco Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Alliance is an all-volunteer organization formed in 2005 a few months after its inspiration, Reid Sacco, lost his heroic and brutal two-year battle with rhabdomyosarcoma at age 20. Reid and his family experienced first-hand the frustrations and the tragedy of having no place to go to find and receive age-appropriate and specialized care for his treatment. The initial objective of the Alliance was to increase AYA cancer awareness among clinicians, providers, and the public.
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It is the Mission of the Reid R. Sacco Adolescent & Young Adult Cancer Alliance to make possible the day when cancers striking Adolescents and Young Adults (defined as those between the ages of 15 to 39) are routinely curable, or entirely preventable, and are no longer ending or devastating their lives and those of their families. Reid's Ride and Alliance are recognized nationwide for being among the first to recognize and do something about the gaps facing AYAs diagnosed with cancer.
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The Alliance has raised over $3 million since its inception via its primary fundraising event, the Reid's Ride 28-Mile Bike Ride. Those funds allowed the Alliance to launch and sustain two pioneering and comprehensive AYA Cancer Programs in the New England area. One is at Connecticut Children's Hospital in (Hartford) and the other is located at the Tufts Cancer Center (Boston). Together these Programs have led the way in closing the gaps in cancer care and treatment, with innovative changes to models-of-care for AYA cancer patients and survivors and with physician advocacy for improving access to clinical trials for this age group.