The Cannata Report’s 41st Annual Awards & Charities Gala will support Soteria Precision Medicine Foundation’s Precision Medicine for Military Veterans Initiative, which is expanding access to advanced, individualized cancer care for U.S. military veterans.
The initiative began with the Special Operations Forces (SOF) community, where research has found a higher incidence of malignant cancers and certain cancers occurring at younger ages. Funds raised at this year’s 41st Annual Awards & Charities Gala will help provide precision medicine services to approximately 100 to 150 veterans while supporting TARGETx, a research initiative focused on improving cancer treatment and advancing our understanding of cancer within military populations.
Frank G. Cannata spoke with Dr. Rob Newson, Ph.D, chief community officer, Soteria Precision Medicine Foundation, about the initiative, the promise of precision medicine, and how support from this year’s Gala can make a difference for veterans battling cancer. (Dr. Newson served 30 years in the United States Navy, rising to the rank of Captain as a Navy SEAL)
FC: The Precision Medicine for Military Veterans Initiative focuses first on Special Operations Forces veterans. What led Soteria to recognize this community as having such an urgent need for specialized cancer care?
RN: The Precision Medicine for Veterans Initiative serves military veterans broadly, but we began with the Special Operations community because that’s where the evidence and the need became impossible to ignore.
Recent research confirms what many operators and military physicians had suspected for years. The landmark SOCOM/DHA Cancer and SOF Study found that Special Operations personnel experience an 18% higher incidence of malignant cancers than the rest of the military. It also found a 33% higher incidence of melanoma, a 21% higher incidence of testicular cancer, and cancers appearing at much younger ages, including prostate cancer diagnosed an average of eight years earlier and lung cancer more than four years earlier.
Those findings reinforce what we’ve heard from veterans and seen through community cancer trackers: military service can leave a lifelong health legacy that extends decades beyond retirement.
Our goal is to ensure veterans have access to the most advanced cancer care available while generating knowledge that ultimately benefits the entire military community.
FC: Can you explain, in practical terms, how “precision medicine” differs from more traditional treatment plans and why it has the potential to improve outcomes for patients?
RN: Traditional cancer care often follows a standard treatment pathway based primarily on the type and stage of cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation remain the foundation of treatment, but those decisions are often made with limited information about the biology of an individual’s tumor.
Precision medicine starts with a different question: What makes this patient’s cancer unique?
Using comprehensive genomic sequencing of both the tumor and the patient’s inherited DNA, physicians can identify the specific genetic alterations driving the cancer. That information can reveal targeted therapies, immunotherapies, or clinical trials that may not otherwise have been considered, and it can also identify treatments that are unlikely to work.
Every cancer is biologically different. The more intelligence we have about an individual’s cancer, the better we can tailor treatment to exploit its specific weaknesses rather than relying solely on a one-size-fits-all approach.
FC: Can you walk us through the patient journey—from the moment a veteran reaches out to Soteria to the support they receive throughout treatment?
RN: Every veteran’s journey begins with a conversation.
First, they meet with one of our nurse navigators for an in-depth consultation. During that visit, we learn their story, obtain the necessary authorizations, and begin gathering medical records from every health system involved in their care.
From there, we build a comprehensive clinical picture by consolidating records and arranging advanced genomic testing, including both hereditary (germline) testing and sequencing of the cancer itself.
Our clinical team then compares the veteran’s current treatment plan against the latest precision medicine options. When appropriate, we identify clinical trials, convene a multidisciplinary molecular tumor board, and provide treating physicians with additional insights that may improve care.
Many veterans also have the opportunity to participate in the TARGETx research study, allowing them to receive precision medicine support today while helping advance cancer research for future generations of veterans.
Throughout the process, our nurse navigators remain alongside the patient and family, helping them understand options, coordinate care, and navigate an often overwhelming cancer journey.
FC: How will the funds raised from our Annual Awards & Charities Gala directly benefit veterans participating in the Precision Medicine Initiative? Can you elaborate on TARGETx, which launched earlier this year?
RN: Every dollar raised translates directly into care for veterans and discoveries that can improve cancer treatment for future generations.
The support generated through this year’s Gala will help provide comprehensive precision medicine services—including nurse navigation, medical record consolidation, advanced genomic sequencing, molecular tumor board review, and clinical trial evaluation—for approximately 100 to 150 military veterans facing cancer.
It also supports TARGETx, our precision medicine research initiative led by Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and City of Hope.
TARGETx combines state-of-the-art genomic analysis with real-world clinical outcomes to answer two critical questions:
- Which precision medicine approaches are producing the best outcomes for veterans with cancer?
- Are there shared biological patterns or genomic “fingerprints” that may help explain why certain cancers appear more frequently, or at younger ages, within SOF populations?
By helping today’s patients while building tomorrow’s knowledge, every veteran who participates contributes to improving care for those who follow.
FC: One of SOTERIA’s goals is not only to help today’s patients but also to advance research for future generations of veterans. How will the data and insights gathered through this initiative help shape the future of cancer diagnosis and treatment for the military community?
RN: TARGETx was designed to improve both patient care and scientific understanding.
The first objective is to learn which precision medicine strategies consistently produce better outcomes for veterans. By studying genomic profiles alongside treatments and clinical outcomes, we hope to identify approaches that can be adopted more broadly across military and civilian cancer care.
The second objective is to better understand the biology of cancer within military populations. By analyzing genomic information across a large cohort of veterans, researchers may discover common biological pathways, environmental associations, or molecular signatures that help explain why certain cancers develop more frequently or at younger ages.
Over time, those discoveries could influence everything from treatment recommendations to earlier detection strategies, exposure research, and even future prevention efforts.
Ultimately, our vision extends beyond treating cancer; we want to better understand it so future generations of veterans face less of it.
FC: When you look five years down the road, what does success look like for the Precision Medicine Initiative? What impact do you hope this program will have on veterans, their families, and the broader medical community?
RN: Five years from now, success means that hundreds of veterans have lived longer or better lives because precision medicine helped identify more effective treatment options.
It means the research generated through TARGETx has produced new insights that improve cancer care, accelerate research, and deepen our understanding of cancer in military populations.
Most importantly, it means no veteran has to face cancer alone.
At Cancer Hunt, we often describe our role as becoming a veteran’s ‘knowledge swim buddy.’ We walk beside patients and their families, helping them understand the rapidly evolving world of precision medicine so they can make informed decisions with confidence.
Beyond veterans, we hope this initiative demonstrates what a fully integrated precision medicine pathway should look like. Today, many patients never receive comprehensive genomic testing because of cost, access, or lack of awareness. By demonstrating both the clinical value and the improved outcomes that precision medicine can deliver, we hope to influence broader standards of care, encourage earlier adoption of genomic testing, and ultimately help make precision medicine accessible to every cancer patient—not just those fortunate enough to find specialized programs like ours.
Support The Cannata Report’s 2026 Gala Fundraising Effort
This year’s Gala theme, “Resilience,” is in part a tribute to the veterans fighting cancer. To donate to the Precision Medicine for Military Veterans Initiative, a partnership between City of Hope, Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), part of City of Hope, and Soteria Precision Medicine Foundation, please contact Frank G. Cannata at fgcannata@cannatareport.com or mail a check payable to TGen Foundation to Frank G. Cannata, The Cannata Report, P.O. Box 180, Hamburg, NJ, 07419. Alternatively, checks can be sent directly to: TGen Foundation, 445 N Fifth Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
The Cannata Report’s 41st Annual Awards & Charities Gala will be held November 19, 2026, at The Madison Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey. Hytec Solutions and TD SYNNEX return as Platinum Sponsors, while ConnectWise, Distribution Management, and Katun Corporation return as Gold Sponsors. ECI Software Solutions and PEAC Solutions join the Gala as Silver Sponsors, HP will once again host the Cocktail Reception, and Xerox returns to host the After Party.
If you are interested in attending the Gala, please contact Frank G. Cannata at fgcannata@cannatareport.com or CJ Cannata at cjcannata@cannatareport.com.
