By DR. SCOT REMICK
Americanshopes and dreams of more effective cancer treatments are especially acute in West Virginia, where the death rate from cancer is fourth in the nation.
No one is working harder on the problem than doctors and scientists at the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University. The Cancer Centers reopening takes place with a week of events starting April 14. We are grateful for the widespread attention to this doubling of our clinical space. But in fact we would be pleased if the spotlight were diverted from usa spotlight better shown on cancer patients and their families as well as medical caregivers throughout the state.
The Cancer Center at WVU is, of course, a center for research and the latest in treatments. Such new-frontier regimens include umbilical-cord blood transplants for treatment of leukemia and clinical trials involving drugs that, without damaging the bodys healthy cells, target only the tumor itself.
At the same time, our goal is not simply to expect every cancer patient throughout the state to uproot himself or herself to travel to Morgantown. Our goal is to help create a cooperative climate among medical professionals so the most sophisticated diagnosis and care is available to West Virginians on their home turf.
We have started the process by reaching out to our medical colleagues and institutions throughout the state. One tangible outcome is creation of West Virginias first clinical trials network. This network will allow doctors hundreds of miles away to enroll their patients in clinical trials taking place at WVU trials in which promising but experimental cancer therapies are offered to patients who qualify.
We began discussing the idea with community physicians, hospitals and other healthcare providers this past summer.Since then three hospitalsWheeling Hospital, United Hospital Center in Clarksburg and Charleston Area Medical Centerhave said yes to the collaborative network.
Under the joint agreements, community physicians will work with Cancer Center doctors and researchers, and those who enroll their patients in clinical trials will receive experimental anticancer drugs directly from WVU .(Martinsburgs City Hospital, part of WVUH -East, is already able to do that for cancer patients in the Eastern Panhandle.)
Another concrete example of the Cancer Centers statewide benefits is Bonnies Bus, made possible through a $2.5 million gift from Jo and Ben Statler, which launches April 15 in Blacksville. The busa complete digital mammography screening unit on wheelswill travel to hard-to-reach areas of the state where women are least likely to have access to radiology services. Once again, the idea is to connect women with the best treatment closest to home. When mammograms signal need for medical attention, women will be referred to doctors in their communities.
Public education is also high on our list for statewide outreach. Cancer, in many cases, is a preventable disease. Its vital that warning messages about smoking, unhealthful diets and lack of exercise reach our population, because one fact is crystal clear: West Virginias status as second highest state in terms of obesity and tobacco use contributes to our incidence of cancer.
Our vision is for a world without cancera world where cancer fears and mortality are things of the past. Until that day arrives, we must work toward understanding how to prevent the disease and fine-tune our methods of fighting it. In West Virginia, that quest includes uniting all of our medical professionals, hospitals and other institutions across the state to work for the betterment of care.
_
Dr. Scot Remick is director of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at WVU ._