After surviving a cancer that affects only one in one million people, Hope Law and Melinda Nelson are transforming their personal journeys into a growing national movement that’s bringing patients, physicians, researchers, and advocates together to accelerate the search for a cure.
Most people who survive cancer hope to put it behind them. Hope Law and Melinda Nelson chose to build something from it.
After surviving one of the world’s rarest and most aggressive cancers, the two women transformed personal adversity into a national movement that is bringing together patients, caregivers, researchers, and some of the world’s leading adrenal cancer specialists to change the future of a disease that affects approximately one in one million people each year.
After her diagnosis with adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC), Hope Law refused to accept that patients diagnosed after her would face the same isolation, limited treatment options, and lack of awareness that she experienced. She founded the Adrenal Cure Collective to create the community, advocacy, education, and research support she wished had existed when she began her own journey. Today, she serves as the organization’s Founder and President.
As the organization grew, fellow ACC survivor Melinda Nelson joined the mission. Today, as Vice President of the Adrenal Cure Collective, Nelson works alongside Law to strengthen the patient community, expand national outreach, and help lead a movement dedicated to changing the future of adrenal cancer.
Together, the two survivors have united patients, caregivers, physicians, researchers, and advocates around a shared belief that rare cancers deserve the same urgency, innovation, and hope as any other disease.
Neither woman expected that surviving one of the world’s rarest cancers would lead them to build a national nonprofit, host patients and world-renowned researchers from across the country, and become leading voices for a disease that had long been overlooked.
With ACC affecting approximately one in one million people each year, treatment options remain extremely limited. The primary drug used to treat the disease, mitotane, has remained largely unchanged since 1959, underscoring the urgent need for greater investment in research and innovation.
“We realized very quickly that if patients wanted a different future, we would have to help build it ourselves,” said Hope Law. “No one should face a diagnosis this rare feeling alone, and no family should have to wonder whether enough research is being done simply because their disease affects so few people.”
Since its founding, the Adrenal Cure Collective has connected patients across the country, supported adrenal cancer research, developed educational programming, fostered partnerships with leading medical institutions, and built one of the premier annual gatherings dedicated exclusively to the adrenal cancer community.
The mission reached another milestone this summer when the Adrenal Cure Collective hosted its first-ever Zebra Run 5K in Michigan. What began as an ambitious vision became a celebration of resilience, bringing together survivors, patients, caregivers, volunteers, physicians, researchers, and community supporters to raise awareness and critical funding for adrenal cancer research.
Among those in attendance were internationally recognized ACC experts Dr. Jaydira Del Rivero of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Dr. Gary Hammer of the University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center. Their participation reflected the collaborative environment the organization has become known for creating by bringing patients and the world’s leading experts together outside the walls of a hospital.
Building on that momentum, the Adrenal Cure Collective is now preparing for ACC Warrior Weekend, taking place November 12–15, 2026, in Washington, D.C. The annual event has become one of the nation’s premier gatherings dedicated exclusively to adrenocortical carcinoma, bringing together patients, caregivers, physicians, researchers, and advocates from across the country for four days of education, collaboration, advocacy, and hope.
What began as one survivor’s determination to change the future of an overlooked cancer has grown into a national movement led by two survivors—and powered by patients, families, physicians, researchers, and advocates who believe every life is worth fighting for.
For Hope Law and Melinda Nelson, success is not measured by the number of events they host or miles their supporters run. It is measured by the day a newly diagnosed patient realizes they are no longer facing adrenocortical carcinoma alone.
As the Adrenal Cure Collective looks ahead to ACC Warrior Weekend, one thing remains unchanged: the belief that no cancer is too rare to deserve attention, no patient should ever face it alone, and every breakthrough begins with people willing to fight for something bigger than themselves.
To learn more about the Adrenal Cure Collective, register for ACC Warrior Weekend, or support adrenal cancer research, visit www.adrenalcurecollective.org.
