Brandon Hayes-Lattin, M.D.,assistant professor of medicine and director of the OHSU Cancer Institute Adolescent & Young Adult oncology program, has received the Ulman Cancer Fund (UCF) Hope Award.

The UCF Young Adults Oncology Professional Award is given to professionals who have devoted their careers to oncology, made a specific contribution to young adult oncology practice, care and advocacy, and have a substantial connection to the UCF.

Hayes-Lattin says that one of the best parts of his job is the chance to collaborate with other groups that are working to better the care of young adults with cancer.

“The Ulman Cancer Fund is one of these groups, and I’m proud to continue to work in partnership with them to address the issues facing young adults diagnosed with cancer,” Hayes-Lattin said.

A cancer survivor himself, Hayes-Lattin is co-chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation's Young Adult Alliance, a group whose mission is to improve survival rates and quality of life for young adults living with cancer.

“What struck me the hardest when I was diagnosed with cancer as a young adult was the impact it had on the practical aspects of my life: planning for my career, my family, dealing with insurance issues, and finding other patients who could share my experience,” Hayes-Lattin said.

Hayes-Lattin participates in other active national organizations focused on issues of cancer survivorship, clinical trials, and young adults with cancer.

Hayes-Lattin is one of two national recipients of this first-time award. The recipients will be honored during a gala dinner in Maryland on Oct. 26, as the UCF celebrates 10 years of working to change challenges into triumphs for young adult cancer survivors and their families. The dinner will also pay tribute to three-time cancer survivor, Ulman Cancer Fund founder and president of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, Doug Ulman, and seven-time Tour de France winner, cancer survivor and advocate, Lance Armstrong.

An estimated 65,000 people between ages 15 and 39 are diagnosed with cancer each year. Doug Ulman founded the Ulman Cancer Fund to provide support and education to young adults diagnosed with cancer.

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The OHSU Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Science University, the only health sciences academic center in the state of Oregon, was designated as a Clinical Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute in 1997. The 200 members of the center seek to develop innovative, less toxic and more effective strategies of cancer prevention, treatment, diagnosis and control by applying new discoveries in cancer cell biology in molecular genetics.