Lance Armstrong Foundation Establishes Network of NCI Comprehensive Cancer
Centers to Address Needs of the Growing Population of People Living With
Cancer in the United States
SEATTLE, March 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
today announced that it has joined the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) in
helping to address the needs of the growing number of cancer survivors in the
United States through the LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence
Network. The LAF has pledged $1.7 million for the Hutchinson Center's
progressive, comprehensive programs that help people affected by cancer to
live life on their own terms.
"We expect that this generous grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation
and the collaboration with other Network members will greatly enhance our
ability to serve patients throughout the Northwest -- survivors of pediatric
and adult cancer who have been treated with transplantation or conventional
therapy," said Debra Friedman, M.D., who will serve as director of the
Hutchinson Center's LIVESTRONG programs. "We are very excited about the
possibilities this grant represents, as well as the huge potential benefits to
the increasing numbers of cancer survivors."
The LAF grant enables the Hutchinson Center to integrate existing
survivorship programs and develop new programs to better serve survivors of
pediatric and adult malignancies from a large geographic area. Currently, the
Hutchinson Center is the sole National Cancer Institute-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Center to serve Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and
Idaho.
The four Hutchinson Center survivorship initiatives to be united under the
grant include a long-term follow-up program for marrow and stem-cell
transplant patients; the After Cancer Care Ends Survivorship Starts program
for childhood-cancer survivors, directed by Friedman; a prostate-cancer
clinical-research program and the Women's Wellness Center for breast- and
ovarian-cancer survivors. In addition, under Friedman's directorship, a new
program is being developed for general medical-oncology survivors treated with
conventional therapy. The programs are to be housed in the outpatient clinic
of the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, or SCCA, located on the Hutchinson Center
campus. The SCCA is a collaboration of three world-renowned institutions: the
Hutchinson Center, the University of Washington, and Children's Hospital and
Regional Medical Center.
To expand the reach of survivorship programs to underserved communities,
affiliate locations will be established at Harborview Medical Center in
Seattle, Sacred Heart Children's Hospital/Providence Cancer Center in Spokane,
and Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage. Through these affiliates,
the Hutchinson Center will provide cancer-survivor care and research to
inner-city, non-English speaking, and Alaska Native and Native American
populations. The Hutchinson Center will also develop test models such as a
dedicated telephone "help line," an enhanced, easy-to-navigate Web site,
best-practice guidelines, educational materials and additional resources for
survivors and health-care professionals.
The LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence Network is an
invitation-only collaborative partnership among the LAF, NCI-designated
Comprehensive Cancer Centers and their community affiliates. Working together,
members of the Network will address topics such as critical survivorship
research, new interventions and progress in insurance reimbursement to provide
the most-effective survivorship care.
Today, more than 10 million Americans are living with cancer. As the
number of people surviving cancer continues to rise and as their challenges
grow in magnitude and complexity, an increasing need exists for new models of
survivorship care and research.
"Extended cancer survival is a relatively new phenomenon, so the current
pace of research and development of effective models of care lags behind the
need," said Caroline Huffman, LAF survivorship program manager. "To help
accelerate the pace of progress in addressing the needs of the growing
survivor community, the LAF established the LIVESTRONG Survivorship Centers of
Excellence Network to serve as comprehensive, one-stop sources of information,
care and services for cancer survivors, family members and service providers."
Other network members include UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center,
University of Colorado Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams of
world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent, diagnose
and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers, including
three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for health,
knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more information,
please visit http://www.fhcrc.org.
The Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) inspires and empowers people affected
by cancer. We help people with cancer focus on living; we believe that unity
is strength, knowledge is power and attitude is everything. From the moment of
diagnosis, the LAF provides the practical information and tools people with
cancer need to live life on their own terms. The LAF serves its mission
through advocacy, public health and research. Founded in 1997 by cancer
survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the LAF is located in Austin,
Texas. For more information, visit livestrong.org.
CONTACTS
Christi Ball Loso (Hutchinson Center)
206-667-5215
closo@fhcrc.org
Stephanie H. Elsea, APR (Lance Armstrong Foundation)
512-236-8820 x150
stephanie.elsea@laf.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
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Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org
http://www.livestrong.org
CONTACT:
Christi Ball Loso of Hutchinson Center,
+1-206-667-5215, or closo@fhcrc.org; or Stephanie H. Elsea, APR,
Lance Armstrong Foundation, +1-512-236-8820, ext. 150, or
stephanie.elsea@laf.org
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