Vol. 38, No. 18

2-27-2007
By: Eileen Scahill

Armstrong Foundation gives $1.25M for cancer care

The Lance Armstrong Foundation has awarded a $1.25 million grant to the Comprehensive Cancer Center and James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute to improve the care and quality of life of cancer survivors.

The five-year grant will help Ohio State develop a cancer survivorship center, bolster cancer research efforts in the area of survivorship and expand educational and support services for cancer survivors.

Ohio State’s cancer center is one of seven cancer centers at leading medical institutions that comprise the LAF’s Livestrong Survivorship Center of Excellence Network. The network provides essential survivorship services and increases the effectiveness of survivorship care through research, the development of new interventions and sharing of best practices.

Charles Shapiro, director of breast medical oncology at Ohio State, will direct the new survivorship center. Electra Paskett, associate director for population sciences, will be the co-director.

“Cancer survivors have unique medical, psychosocial and educational needs, and dedicated efforts to address those needs and disseminate information to cancer survivors, health care providers and the public are of paramount importance,” says Shapiro. He is also co-chair of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s task force on survivorship guidelines and a member of a committee on cancer survivors with ASCO, the nation’s largest organization of medical oncologists.

With advances in detection and treatment, the number of cancer survivors in the United States has more than tripled to almost 10 million in the past 30 years, according to the National Cancer Institute. With more survivors comes the need for better post-treatment medical care to improve their quality of life, Shapiro says.

The grant will allow Ohio State cancer researchers to learn more about the psychosocial, physical and treatment-related problems faced by survivors, Paskett says. Areas of focus will include obesity and energy balance, symptom intervention and nutritional chemoprevention.

The grant will help expand the educational and supportive services offered at The James through its JamesCare for Life programs, and strengthen community-based partnerships with OSU East Hospital and the Holzer Center for Cancer Care, a clinic in Gallipolis, Ohio, that serves a region of Appalachia.

“Our focus is on both the best treatments for cancer patients and the best aftercare for survivors,” Paskett says. “This will truly elevate Ohio State’s research and educational efforts to help patients become survivors.”

Founded in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the LAF (livestrong.org) is located in Austin, Texas.

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