Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute has received a five-year Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant of more than $2 million to disseminate information and education materials to hematological cancer survivors, their families and caregivers.
The grant, awarded to nine organizations in the first round of funding, allows the Cancer Institute to use rapid electronic communication methods to develop and distribute educational material to adolescents and young adults diagnosed with hematological cancers. According to project team members, there is a dearth of survivorship material targeted at this age demographic.
"As medical director of the OHSU Cancer Institute's Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program, I am aware of the unique biological aspects and psychosocial needs of patients diagnosed with cancer during adolescence and young adulthood," said Brandon Hayes-Lattin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine. "This award will help to fill a critical gap in efficiently delivering survivorship materials that are tailored to patients diagnosed with hematologic malignancies during these important stages of life."
Hayes-Lattin will serve as co-principle investigator for the program along with Shannon McWeeney, Ph.D., director of the informatics shared resource at the OHSU Cancer Institute and assistant professor of biostatistics and bioinformatics, Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine.
The team plans to implement strategic collaborations with other national health organizations, such as the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance, of which Hayes-Lattin serves as medical co-chairman, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation - the same foundation that funded the establishment of the OHSU Cancer Institute's Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Program.
Michael Mauro, M.D., assistant professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, and Patricia A. Carney, Ph.D., professor of family medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, also will contribute to the project.
Nine organizations were awarded grants for this project in the first round of funding, including:
* Oregon Health & Science University
* Patient Advocate Foundation
* Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
* National Marrow Donor Program
* Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation
* Lymphoma Research Foundation
* Education Network to Advance Cancer Clinical Trials
* Sibling Survivors Education and Information
* National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
The OHSU Cancer Institute is the only cancer center designated by the National Cancer Institute center between Sacramento and Seattle. It comprises some 120 clinical researchers, basic scientists and population scientists who work together to translate scientific discoveries into longer and better lives for Oregon's cancer patients. In the lab, basic scientists examine cancer cells and normal cells to uncover molecular abnormalities that cause the disease. This basic science informs more than 200 clinical trials conducted at the OHSU Cancer Institute.