CHICAGO – Leaders of the cancer charity founded by Lance Armstrong struck a determined, sometimes defiant tone on Thursday as they declared the organization will persevere in the wake of the cyclist’s admission that he used performance-enhancing drugs.

“I am on safe ground to say that the past year did not go as planned,” Livestrong’s executive vice president Andy Miller said at The Livestrong Foundation’s annual meeting in Chicago. “Things happen that we cannot control – cancer has taught us that. What do we do? We adapt.”

He added later, “This is our message to the world: The Livestrong Foundation is not going anywhere.”