For all the innovation and ingenuity in the medical field, this country performs miserably with disease prevention and early detection. For many reasons, this makes no sense.

In the case of autism, the economic argument for early diagnosis and treatment was clear:  Early intervention makes a lifetime of difference, with reduced burden on the school system and the Medicaid program.  It also leads to better outcomes for individuals. Of course, this is true of many conditions.

Years after the Wrights made that argument for autism support, Suzanne Wright was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. It was shocking to learn there is no reliable detection test and there are no curative treatments for the disease!

Mammograms, PSA tests, and colonoscopies have saved millions of lives, but there is nothing for pancreatic cancer. It has been nearly fifty years since Nixon declared War on Cancer. Shockingly, pancreatic cancer has the same 91% mortality rate it had in 1971.  This is the highest mortality rate of all cancers.

45,000 people die every year, like clockwork, and there is no urgency at the federal research level to address this. Nobody is held accountable for this lack of progress.  Bob Wright soon learned why. There is no army to demand a new approach. #RoadToHARPA

For all the work being done at the grassroots level, the Wrights knew they needed a campaign to drive awareness of autism. Despite skyrocketing prevalence numbers, there was little understanding of the condition and many barriers to progress.

Suzanne took this on as her own challenge. She dedicated herself to driving a global awareness effort to educate the world about the need for acceptance and action. In 2007, with Qatar as a lead sponsor, Suzanne secured the support of the entire United Nations to establish April 2nd as World Autism Awareness Day. Remarkably, she got this done in less than six months – a record at the UN.

Suzanne’s energy and vision were the foundation for Light It Up Blue, a global marketing campaign that marks every April 2nd by getting buildings and landmarks around the world to turn their lights blue for autism.

The Light It Up Blue campaign provided the hope that with enough support behind you, anything can be done. Only a few years later, this would prove to be monumentally harder when Suzanne faced her deadly diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. #RoadToHARPA