{"id":158832,"date":"2022-05-23T11:05:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-23T21:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=158832"},"modified":"2022-05-23T11:51:32","modified_gmt":"2022-05-23T21:51:32","slug":"letter-to-cancer-center-from-eac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2022\/05\/23\/letter-to-cancer-center-from-eac\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center commended on 50th anniversary for fulfilling mission"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Center is a leader in many areas of cancer research, and has made substantial contributions to reduce the burden of cancer in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, the Pacific Islands, the nation and the world. That\u2019s according to the center\u2019s External Advisory Committee (EAC<\/abbr>), composed of cancer experts from around the country. Every National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center (71 total) is required to have an EAC<\/abbr> to advise and review center operations and initiatives.<\/p>\n

“On this 50th anniversary of the founding of the UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center (UHCC<\/abbr>), we, the members of the UHCC<\/abbr> EAC<\/abbr>, congratulate the people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, your elected officials, leadership of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, members of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Consortium, and other community supporters for your visionary support of this superb cancer research center,” said the committee in a May 5 letter to the people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. “We also applaud the UHCC<\/abbr>\u2019s past and present scientists, staff, and administrators whose vision and dogged determination have enabled the UHCC<\/abbr> to fulfill the promise that was envisioned 50 years ago this year.”<\/p>\n

The letter also noted the UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center is unique compared to the nation\u2019s other cancer centers because of the large geographic and ethnically diverse area it serves. The complete letter is below along with the authors. <\/p>\n

Congratulations to the UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center on its 50th Anniversary!<\/h2>\n

Aloha to the People of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,<\/p>\n

Each of the nation\u2019s 71 National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers is required to have an External Advisory Committee (EAC<\/abbr>) composed of cancer experts from around the country. The undersigned members of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Center<\/a>\u2019s EAC<\/abbr> met in Honolulu in early 2022, almost 50 years to the date after the UHCC<\/abbr> was founded by the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>. We are writing to update you on the substantial contributions the UHCC<\/abbr> has made, and will continue to make, to reduce the burden of cancer in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, the Pacific Islands, the nation and the world.<\/p>\n

The UHCC<\/abbr> is unique among the nation\u2019s cancer centers in a number of ways. The geographic area served by the UHCC<\/abbr> is enormous, encompassing Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, Guam, and other United States Affiliated Pacific Islands. The ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity of the people living throughout this area is greater than for any other cancer center in the country. Within the state, the UHCC<\/abbr> successfully works with the major health care systems as a member of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Consortium focused on reducing the region\u2019s burden of cancer. This has resulted in productive and unique collaborations among Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>\u2019s health care systems.<\/p>\n

A major focus of the collaboration between the UHCC<\/abbr> and the health systems in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is in the conduct of cancer clinical trials. Clinical trials represent the most promising new ways to find cancer early, treat people with cancer more effectively, and provide support for people coping with cancer and for their loved ones. The UHCC<\/abbr> has worked with the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Consortium to collaborate in a manner that provides the people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Pacific Islands direct access to highly innovative cancer clinical trials in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, without the need for travel away from home and family. This is also important because it provides confidence that new and exciting cancer treatments are shown to work equally well for the ethnically diverse people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Pacific.<\/p>\n

The UHCC<\/abbr> is comprised of national leaders in many areas of cancer research. A key example is the UHCC<\/abbr> Multi-Ethnic Cohort Study<\/a>. This collaborative study involves analyzing information on health and lifestyle from volunteer participants from various ethnic backgrounds over many years. The information derived from this study has been used to make ground-breaking discoveries related to the role of diet, lifestyle, and genetics in cancer, directly affecting the populations the UHCC<\/abbr> serves. This includes engaging various communities to develop new approaches to support healthier lifestyles that will ultimately reduce the future burden of cancer in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Pacific. Other researchers at the UHCC<\/abbr> are exploring cancer at the molecular and cellular level. Indeed, discoveries made in the research laboratories in Kakaʻako<\/span> will serve as the foundation for the next generation of new approaches to preventing, detecting and treating cancer. This fertile environment for research is also producing the next generation of cancer researchers through the many levels of educational and mentorship initiatives.<\/p>\n

On this 50th anniversary of the founding of the UHCC<\/abbr><\/a>, we, the members of the UHCC<\/abbr> EAC<\/abbr>, congratulate the people of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, your elected officials, leadership of the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, members of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Cancer Consortium, and other community supporters for your visionary support of this superb cancer research center. We also applaud the UHCC<\/abbr>\u2019s past and present scientists, staff, and administrators whose vision and dogged determination have enabled the UHCC<\/abbr> to fulfill the promise that was envisioned 50 years ago this year. <\/p>\n

Mahalo, on behalf of those of us who live on the mainland, for the contributions the UHCC<\/abbr> has made to reducing the burden of cancer beyond the islands as well!<\/p>\n

With appreciation and warm Aloha,<\/p>\n

George J. Weiner
\nChair, UHCC<\/abbr> External Advisory Committee
\nDirector, Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
\nUniversity of Iowa<\/p>\n

Karen E. Knudsen
\nVice-Chair, UHCC<\/abbr> EAC<\/abbr>
\nChief Executive Officer, American Cancer Society & American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
\nProfessor, SidneyKimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson Health and Thomas Jefferson University <\/p>\n

Melissa Bondy
\nStanford Medicine Discovery Chair and Professor
\nDepartment of Epidemiology and Population Health
\nAssociate Director of Population Sciences
\nStanford University School of Medicine and Stanford Cancer Institute<\/p>\n

David M. Gosky
\nExecutive Director, Administration
\nThe Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-The James<\/p>\n

Primo (Lucky) Lara
\nDirector, University of California Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
\nProfessor of Medicine, Division of Hematology-Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine
\nCodman-Radke Endowed Chair for Cancer Research
\nExecutive Associate Dean for Cancer Programs
\nUniversity of California Davis School of Medicine<\/p>\n

Frank L. Meyskens, Jr.
\nProfessor of Medicine, Biological Chemistry and Public Health, College of Health Sciences
\nDirector Emeritus and Senior Advisor, Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
\nUniversity of California Irvine<\/p>\n

Timothy R. Rebbeck
\nVincent L. Gregory, Jr. Professor of Cancer Prevention
\nHarvard TH Chan School of Public Health and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute<\/p>\n

Ken Resnicow
\nIrwin M. Rosenstock Collegiate Professor
\nUniversity of Michigan School of Public Health
\nDepartment of Health Behavior & Health Education
\nAssociate Director, Community Outreach and Health Disparities Research
\nRogel Cancer Center<\/p>\n

Georgia Robins Sadler
\nProfessor of Surgery, UC<\/abbr> San Diego School of Medicine
\nPast Associate Director for Community Outreach, UCSD<\/abbr> Moores Cancer Center<\/p>\n

David Tuveson
\nDirector, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Cancer Center
\nRoy J. Zuckerberg Professor of Cancer Research<\/p>\n

Gary Schwartz
\nChief, Division of Hematology\/Oncology
\nDeputy Director, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center
\nColumbia University Medical Center<\/p>\n

Michael Teitell
\nDirector, UCLA<\/abbr> Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
\nLatta Endowed Chair in Pathology
\nDepartments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Pediatrics and Bioengineering<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A letter from the UH<\/abbr> Cancer Center’s External Advisory Committee on the center’s contributions to cancer research since its founding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[643,1363,169,9],"class_list":["post-158832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-anniversary","tag-manoa-research","tag-uh-cancer-center","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158832"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":158898,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158832\/revisions\/158898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}