Abstract
Countries with national cancer agencies and national cancer plans are often more effective at driving strategic and policy change directed at cancer control. However, despite this link, the establishment of these structures requires significant political will, which is often missing. Aotearoa New Zealand is an Organisation for Economic Co‐operation and Development high‐income country with a population of over five million, with majority publicly funded and delivered cancer diagnosis and treatment. We describe a four‐phase approach led by academics, clinician advocates, nongovernmental organizations, and patients that resulted in a change in public sentiment around the need for national reform in our approach to cancer control. This approach involved public and media engagement, evidence generation, academic and professional consensus building, and strategic lobbying that culminated in the establishment of a national cancer agency and a first‐in‐20‐year renewal of a national cancer plan. This case study describes the steps we undertook to translate cancer policy into effective action, with many lessons for policymakers and advocates globally.