Cancer Institute shares success of lung cancer programs in West Virginia at national summit

The WVU Cancer Institute is making progress in combatting West Virginia’s lung cancer problem and recently attended the annual Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Grantee Summit. The Summit, held in Charleston, South Carolina, was a venue to share the impact of Cancer Prevention & Control’s lung cancer screening and survivorship programs. The WV Lung Cancer Project, funded by the Patient Advocate Foundation, aims to increase lung cancer screening, particularly among low-income and limited resourced individuals across WV. It was highlighted in an oral presentation by our partner, Shonta Chambers. The Bridge Program seeks to improve the coordination of care and decrease the consequences of lung cancer treatment for patients in the mountain state. Abby Starkey, MS, of Cancer Prevention and Control and Adrienne Duckworth, MSN, of the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center presented a poster highlighting its success. It has served 40 patients and identified more than 100 unmet needs of lung cancer survivors who have completed treatment. The program has also referred patients to more than 70 community resources, social services, and other health care providers.

Photo:  (l-r) Jim Keresztury (Cancer Prevention & Control); Shonta Chambers (Patient Advocate Foundation); Stephenie Kennedy, Amie Muraski and Abby Starkey (Cancer Prevention & Control); and Adrienne Duckworth (Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center)