Dana Deighton Joins ECAN Board of Directors

BALTIMORE − The Baltimore-based Esophageal Cancer Action Network (ECAN) has appointed Dana C. Deighton to a three-year term on its board of directors. She also chairs the national nonprofit organization’s Marketing Committee and serves on its Survivorship and Executive committees.

The cause is personal for Deighton, who was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer in May 2013, and has since undergone extensive chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and surgery.

“I volunteer with ECAN to help others get the help they need that can save their lives,” Deighton explained. “It was a roller coaster of false starts and dead-ends for me for many months before my diagnosis, but I know so much more now and am glad to use that insight for something positive.”

Deighton, who serves as Director, Strategic Partnerships & Membership with National Geographic Partners, began her career at National Geographic Society in 1992, starting as an administrative assistant and working her way up to the director level.

Among her accomplishments, she helped create and manage the National Geographic Kids award‐winning Hands‐On Explorer Challenge, a children’s photo/essay contest that awarded 15 winners with a trip with National Geographic explorers.

She also participated on the team that launched National Geographic Unique Lodges of the World, a collection of nearly 50 one-of-a-kind properties around the world that are committed to authentic experiences and sustainable tourism practices.

Deighton graduated from Loyola University Maryland and also attended American University of Paris.

ABOUT ECAN
ECAN’s mission is to save lives by increasing awareness about the link between heartburn and cancer, promoting early detection and supporting medical innovation to prevent, detect, treat and cure esophageal cancer. It is led by a board of directors of top physicians, business leaders and families that have been touched by esophageal cancer.

ECAN successfully advocated with the National Cancer Institute to include esophageal cancer in its groundbreaking genome mapping project known as The Cancer Genome Atlas. Through ECAN’s efforts, April has been formally designated as Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month across the United States. ECAN also published an innovative Guide for Patients with input from leading doctors across the nation. For more information, visit www.ECAN.org.