GRACE was started as a nonprofit organization in September of 2007 after it became clear that there is a growing need for high quality, expert-mediated cancer information for the general public, specifically for patients and their families, that is not available through other sources. Dr. Howard (Jack) West, a medical oncologist based in Seattle, started a predecessor website called OncTalk (www.OncTalk.com) in the fall of 2006 as a source of expert information on lung cancer, with the assistance and encouragement of other online communities focusing on the lung cancer community. An audience for this content grew with little to no advertising, up to several thousand visitors per month, and it became clear that it would be helpful to have expert information from multiple faculty participants, both to provide additional perspectives and to attend to the growing number of questions and comments needing timely responses.

Recognizing the need for balanced, expert-mediated, and interactive educational opportunities for the lung cancer population and ideally other cancer communities, GRACE was developed as a nonprofit organization in hopes of receiving grant and contributor support to increase the breadth of material and expert viewpoints, as well as the depth of educational content to include new formats. Since its formation, several new faculty members have provided their input on the subject of lung cancer and a growing array of cancer subjects that includes radiation oncology, oncology social work, complementary and alternative medicine, and other related fields.

GRACE was granted IRS 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization status in February of 2008.