On Monday, June 29, 2026, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., the Arts4All Foundation, NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens, Queens Cancer Center, SHAREing and CAREing, elected officials, cancer survivors, caregivers, healthcare workers, and the New York community joined together to commemorate National Rose and Cancer Survivors Month.
June is National Cancer Survivors Month and National Rose Month; both are times dedicated to recognizing the strength, hope, and resilience of Americans. Cancer survivors often use roses to spread awareness and a heartwarming way to support recovery, as the rose is the national floral emblem of public service, courage, peace, justice, and community service.
The Arts4All Foundation collaborated with the Queens Cancer Center (QCC) at NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens to commemorate the national holiday month by hosting a free event open to the public. The event included an awards ceremony, informative cancer prevention presentations, a luncheon, a cake-cutting ceremony, rose flowers, and rose-themed gifts for the cancer patients, cancer survivors, caregivers, and healthcare workers.
Dr. Sumita SenGupta, the Founder of the Arts4All Foundation and organizer of the event, said, “We are commemorating National Rose and Cancer Survivors Month at a pivotal time when more than 18 million Americans are living with cancer, all while we are seeing unpredicted federal cuts to lifesaving cancer research and essential health resources and an increase in federal spending on vanity projects that are drastically changing areas, including the rose garden, which holds important historical and cultural significance.”
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She added, “We are proud to stand in solidarity with our cancer patients, cancer survivors, caregivers, doctors, nurses, healthcare workers, oncology researchers, hospitals, clinics, and medical facilities to call for bipartisan support in reinstating funding for essential oncology research and cancer care that has driven rapid advancements in lifesaving discoveries in cancer prevention, detection, and treatment. As we celebrate the extraordinary achievements of our resilient and inspiring cancer patients and cancer survivors as well as the incredibly gifted team at Queens Hospital Center, let us recommit ourselves to advancing health equity to support the well-being of our communities.”
Recently, there have been major cuts to critical federal cancer research and, at the same time, an increase in federal spending on cosmetic construction projects such as adding stone pavement to the rose garden for $1.9 million and renovating the State Ballroom for $400 million, a press release from Arts4All noted. Approximately, $1.8 billion in budget cuts stopped critical public health research, including halting 1 in 30 active clinical cancer trials, it added. 180 NCI-funded grants and thousands of NIH grants were either terminated or frozen. Furthermore, this federal administration is planning to reduce the NIH budget from $47.2 billion in FY 2026 to $41.2 billion for FY 2027. Locally, federal cuts to healthcare have negatively impacted and limited the resources of cancer facilities. Among the populations most disproportionately impacted by the funding cuts are childhood cancer and low-income patients and cancer research for minorities.
Dr. Ellen Hagopian, an honoree, cancer survivor, and the Director of the Queens Cancer Center (QCC) at Queens Hospital Center, said, “Here at the Queens Cancer Center, survivorship begins at diagnosis, where we make healthcare equity, comprehensive treatment, and wellness a priority to support patients, families, and their caregivers every step of the way.”
Dr. Hagopian added, “I am proud to lead and work with a dedicated medical team of healthcare professionals who are all deeply committed to cancer prevention during the diagnosis stage and offer the most innovative and technologically advanced cancer treatment to ensure all of our patients have no barriers to equity in services and receive the highest quality of cancer care available in the country. I thank Dr. Sumita SenGupta and all of the survivors here today for joining Queens Hospital Center in celebrating National Rose and Cancer Survivors Month.”
The program included presentations from Dr. Hagopian, Dr. Tarun Wasil, an eminent hematologist-oncologist, and Dr. Jagmohan Kalra, a cancer expert and hematologist-oncologist.
The Arts4All Foundation honored cancer survivors Taquoia Jones, Anna Kril, Kimberly Alicea, Sue Ann Chong, Harcharan Singh Bagga, and Allison Alexis. The healthcare professional honorees included hematologist-oncologists Dr. Tarun Wasil and Dr. Jagmohan Kalra and NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens officials Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Neil J. Moore, Dr. Ellen Hagopian, and Cleon Edwards.
The elected officials who attended the event were Senator Kristen Gonzalez, Assemblymembers Larinda Hooks, David Weprin, Edward Braunstein, Assemblywoman-elect Samantha Kattan, State Committee Member-elect Imran Raman, and former Councilmember Candidate Japneet Singh. Lunch donated by Akbar Himani, the owner of Nanking Restaurant, and a rose cake provided by Kaushal Naik, the owner of Hot Breads.