Mark Hirschhorn leads the pioneering mental and behavioral health virtual therapy platform Talkspace as the president and chief operating officer. Talkspace works to offer accessible, affordable, meaningful services delivered by experienced and licensed providers. In addition to his decades of work in the digital media and telehealth fields, Mark Hirschhorn supports nonprofit organizations such as the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation (NPCF), which raises awareness and funding for research into oncology treatments for children.
In observance of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in September 2020, the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in New York was specially lit up in yellow and gold. Families whose lives had been affected by the disease joined NPCF board members and donors for a celebratory walk across the bridge that connects Rockland and Westchester counties. The walk also served to call policymakers’ attention to the unique issues that youth with cancer face.
“Children deserve more than four” is the catchphrase a spokesperson used prior to the bridge walk. That’s because only 4 percent of all government funding for cancer research is directed to pediatric cancer. Yet, due to children’s distinct physiological, chemical, structural, and anatomical differences from adults, treatments based on adult models often fail to help them - and can even produce significant harm.
The NPCF pointed out that cancer is still the leading cause of death by disease for young people under age 14. For more information, visit NationalPCF.org.
