ECU, UNC experts want to hear people’s ideas for cancer research, treatment

Published Jan 17, 2008 by
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The needs of eastern North Carolinians with cancer will be the topic during a Jan. 24 “listening tour” stop in Greenville featuring representatives from the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center in Chapel Hill and the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center in Greenville.

The event will begin with a reception at 4:30 p.m. followed by a discussion from 5-7 p.m. at the Monroe Eastern AHEC Conference Center at 2000 Venture Tower Drive in Greenville. Cancer specialists from East Carolina University, home of the Jenkins Center, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, home of the Lineberger Center, will speak and answer questions.

Last year, the North Carolina General Assembly established the University Cancer Research Fund. It is a unique investment by the people of North Carolina to accelerate and advance discoveries and treatments for North Carolinians whose lives are touched by cancer.

Established at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine and its Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, the fund is designed to accelerate the battle against cancer in North Carolina. It will receive $25 million in 2007-2008 and is slated to increase to $50 million a year beginning in 2009.

In 2006, cancer passed heart disease as the leading cause of death in North Carolina. The American Cancer Society estimated that in 2007 more than 34,000 North Carolinians were diagnosed with cancer and nearly 17,000 would die from the disease.

Greenville is the first stop on a statewide listening tour Lineberger is hosting. Other stops are in Asheville and Wilmington with other sessions to be scheduled soon. The public is invited to share its thoughts about how research can improve cancer prevention, screening and treatment in their communities.

For more information, call the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center at (919) 966-3036, e-mail lccc@med.unc.edu or visit http://cancer.unc.edu/ucrf.

Individuals with disabilities requesting accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the Department for Disability Support Services at (252) 328-6799 (V) or (252) 328-0899 (TTY).