ACE Meeting. July 21, 2026. 6pm ET, 3pm PT. In this session, Steven Bidwell draws on three decades as both a performer and an oral cancer patient to explore the power of storytelling in advocacy. Using his own experience as a teaching tool, he introduces three practical techniques — the cold open, the vulnerability pivot, and the specific detail — to help advocates craft presentations that are authentic, engaging, and genuinely memorable, whether the audience is a roomful of patients, caregivers, or clinicians.
Steven Bidwell is a Toronto-based actor and patient advocate with over thirty years of experience in theatre, television, and commercials across North America. He is also a five-time oral cancer survivor whose journey through recurrence, surgery, and radiation ultimately brought those two identities together. He now takes that combined experience to stages, screens, and conference rooms — ensuring the lived reality of cancer is heard alongside the clinical one.
