improving healthcare as a
patient advocate
Parul Somani is an award-winning patient advocate reputed for presenting her lived experiences in an inspiring and action-oriented way. She has spoken on cancer care, genomics, patient empowerment, and embracing change with intention at the White House for Cancer Moonshot and for events for the World Economic Forum, American Cancer Society, Stanford Health Care, MIT Koch Institute, and HLTH conference. Parul's cancer blog, "New Job. New Baby. New Cancer.", has drawn readers from across ~85 countries.
Parul was named the 2020 Raising Hope Honoree for the American Cancer Society because she not only advocates for patients, caregivers, and survivors, but also inspires us all to live and lead with intention. I've seen Parul passionately share her experiences and insights at events for the World Economic Forum and planning sessions associated with President Biden's Cancer Moonshot at the White House, and greatly respect how she is creating meaning from her setbacks by inspiring and empowering others to thrive.
Karen Knudsen, MBA, PhD
CEO
American Cancer Society
Parul's voice has energized the community of cancer survivors and professional caregivers. Her very special blend of wisdom, insight and ingenuity, together with her dynamic presentation skills helped make our patient workshops about Mental Wellbeing a huge success. Listening to Parul tell her story and share her wisdom is inspiring and instructive and reminds me that there is so much more that we can do to promote wellbeing for the growing community of cancer survivors.
Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO
Professor of Medicine, Stanford University
Director Cancer Survivorship Program, Stanford Cancer Institute
We could not be happier with how the evening unfolded and how the message has been received. Huge thank you to Parul Somani for lending us not only her extensive leadership coaching skills, but also for being vulnerable and sharing her own lived experiences with our audience. You were truly such an inspiring and impactful keynote speaker!
Jonathan Naylor, PharmD
Associate Director of Patient Advocacy, Oncology
Bristol Myers Squibb
Parul truly engaged our audience on a professional and personal level! She received a heartfelt standing ovation with many leaving her session feeling inspired and invigorated to continue advocating for patient care.
Brittany Evans
Associate Director
Society of Hospital Medicine
Parul is an articulate, courageous, and giving professional, mother, and cancer survivor with the gift of expressing what she has learned in a way that inevitably helps others in a similar situation. She distills hard lessons into invigorating life directions. She is clear-eyed about the challenges, but positive about the directions needed to deal with them. She encourages and inspires.
David Spiegel, M.D.
Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Director of the Center on Stress and Health at Stanford University School of Medicine
Parul’s courage and persistence saved her and her mother’s life. Her story is a critical reminder of how important ongoing research is to find better solutions for cancer. Parul is an inspiration, and I am honored she chose to share her cancer journey with our community.
Matt Vander Heiden, MD, PhD
Director
MIT’s Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research
Speaking Topics
All topics are available as interactive keynotes or panel discussions for in-person or virtual events.
CANCER CARE | GENOMICS | PATIENT EMPOWERMENT | SELF-ADVOCACY | EMBRACING CHANGE WITH INTENTION
Parul Somani is an award-winning patient advocate and lived experience expert reputed for her ability to present her patient, survivor, and caregiver insights in an empowering, action-oriented way. Her experiences as a BRCA1 carrier and cancer survivor, combined with her business expertise, make Parul a credible thought partner to patients, providers, researchers, and healthcare leaders. She has been invited to share her insights and thought leadership with premier health organizations, including the White House for President Biden's Cancer Moonshot and for the World Economic Forum, American Cancer Society, MIT Koch Institute, Stanford Health Care, and the HLTH conference. Parul will not only share her patient and caregiver journey with us, but will also inspire us with the actionable insights, powerful frameworks, and thought-provoking questions she derived from her lived experiences and empower us to better navigate uncertainty and embrace change in all areas of our lives.
![[Parul Somani] Acting With Intention: What Lived Experiences Taught Me About Embracing Change](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AVvm0nAZqRE/maxresdefault.jpg)
