Siteman Cancer Center in St. Louis and University of Missouri Health Care's Ellis Fischel Cancer Center in Columbia are collaborating on initiatives to improve cancer prevention across Missouri.
The collaboration will allow both organizations to jointly pursue competitively funded research grants; expand access to Siteman's 8 Ways to Prevent Cancer campaign and Your Disease Risk tool for cancer awareness and screening test information in the general public; and help researchers collaborate with the veterinary medicine department to translate oncology research in animals to humans, the release stated Sept. 20.
"Access to cancer care is a problem in many rural areas of the state," Washington University's Bettina Drake, PhD, a professor of surgery in the Public Health Sciences Division, University of Missouri Extension, and associate director of community outreach and engagement at Siteman, said. "Working with an institution like the University of Missouri, which has connections throughout Missouri, will help us identify barriers to care and develop strategies, resources and policies that we can implement to alleviate those barriers. University of Missouri Extension offices are already established in every county, and we look forward to opportunities to collaborate on community activities related to cancer prevention and screening, whether it's a cancer prevention education program or a mammography screening event."