2025 GRATITUDE AND IMPACT REPORT
Peterson Life with Cancer®
2025 by the numbers
Inova Peterson Life with Cancer: compassionate, holistic cancer care for the community
Thanks to the transformative and visionary generosity of the Peterson family and our dedicated community of donors, Inova Peterson Life with Cancer® continues to enhance the lives of individuals and families facing cancer across the region. As a program of Inova Schar Cancer, Peterson Life with Cancer provides evidence-based education, holistic wellness, integrative therapies, counseling and oncology nurse navigation—at no cost to the participant through the generosity of philanthropic support—no matter where a person lives or receives treatment.
Your support ensures that patients, survivors and their loved ones can access specialized classes, support groups, nutritional consultations, therapeutic counseling, nurse navigation and mind-body wellness programs. Your philanthropic efforts help us deliver hope, expert care and the resources needed to navigate every step of the cancer journey, improving quality of life and making a lasting impact in our community.
Patient consultations
Total clinic encounters, 37% more than 2024
Distress screenings
Pediatric and adolescent patients seen
People reached through community events
Unique programs offered
Increase in consultations over the past 5 years
National presentations
New programs
Active research studies
Regional presentations
Patient consultations
Total clinic encounters, 37% more than 2024
Distress screenings
Pediatric and adolescent patients seen
People reached through community events
Unique programs offered
Increase in consultations over the past 5 years
National presentations
New programs
Active research studies
Regional presentations
2026 Inova Peterson Life with Cancer Lobster Extravaganza
For 26 years and counting, Lobster Extravaganza serves as a philanthropic cornerstone, helping raise funds for Peterson Life with Cancer, providing compassionate cancer care to individuals and families in our community.
700,000+ Peterson Life with Cancer patient interactions since the launch of Lobster Extravaganza!
This year, through the generous support of donors like you, Lobster Extravaganza raised more than $1.4 million for Peterson Life with Cancer, providing patients, survivors, and their loved ones resources and support to improve their quality of life and help them cope with cancer through diagnosis, treatment and survivorship in the best possible way.
Peterson Life with Cancer patients, families, and Inova Team Members honored at the 2026 Inova Peterson Life with Cancer Lobster Extravaganza.
Learn more and watch a video about the phenomenal impact you’re making possible every day!
Strength, support and healing – powered by you
Classes, events and programs promote healing and wellbeing
Your generosity makes it possible for Peterson Life with Cancer to offer vital programs, services and support that provide hope, strength and guidance for patients, survivors and their loves ones at every stage of the cancer journey.
Thanks to donors like you, these vital resources are accessible to anyone in our community, ensuring no one faces cancer alone.
2025 Peterson Life with Cancer highlights:
- 2nd Annual Survivorship Day
- Women’s Sexual Health Workshop
- New! Monthly BIPOC support group
- New! Art therapy program: “Unmasking Your Story.” A form of self-expression through visual arts using patients’ radiation masks
- New! “Foundations of Self-Compassion” series
- New! Quarterly “Saville’s Cooking with Kelsey.” Virtual cooking classes and meals for cancer risk reduction
- New! Six community partnerships participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month events
- Expanded Peterson Life with Cancer & VUIM Community Caregiver Acupuncture Clinic
- 4th Annual “Eat to Thrive” event. A nutrition workshop for cancer survivors with 300+ attendees
Pioneering progress: innovation in cancer research
Your support fuels groundbreaking cancer research, propelling Peterson Life with Cancer as a leader in advanced cancer care and treatment.
From investigator-initiated studies designed to improve quality of life, to national cooperative group trials expanding access to promising supportive care interventions, to research drawing on real-world patient experiences to reveal new insights and enhance care delivery, your philanthropy is reshaping supportive cancer care across our region.
Spotlight: Psychosocial Research at Peterson Life with Cancer
Mind Over Matter (MOM): helps patients build coping skills to manage the emotional and physical challenges of cancer, from diagnosis through survivorship. Ongoing initiatives are focused on expanding the program for diverse communities.
Brain Fog: supports patients managing cancer-related cognitive changes, including memory and focus issues, while investigating mindfulness-based approaches and innovative methods for assessing brain fog.
ACTIVATE: provides women undergoing pelvic radiation therapy with personalized exercise coaching to help reduce fatigue and improve quality of life.
MPOWER: explores whether acupuncture can relieve hot flashes and other side effects for men undergoing hormone therapy for prostate cancer
Thank you for your impact
Your partnership powers everything we do, thank you. Your philanthropic efforts help elevate the highest quality care closer to home starting with our first four critical areas:
- Inova’s Greatest Needs
- Leading with Compassion on the Cancer Journey
- Transforming Heart and Vascular Care
- Reimagining Behavioral Health
Thanks to your generous support, Inova has surpassed the midpoint of our Do. More. Together. comprehensive campaign, raising more than $250 million towards our goal. Learn more about your impact here.
Your generosity strengthens the foundation of our mission and fuels the progress we’re making together. We are profoundly grateful for all you make possible.
Learn more about Inova's Do. More. Together. $500 million fundraising campaign at Foundation.Inova.org/Do-More-Together.
For more information on the impact of your giving, please contact Kristen Bentivegna, Director of Philanthropy at Kristen.Bentivegna@Inova.org.
