Cancer center receives Livestrong Community Impact Project Award
Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center
GREENVILLE, N.C. — The Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center at East Carolina University, in partnership with Pitt County Memorial Hospital, has received a national award that will bring art therapy to cancer patients.
The center received one of 55 Livestrong Community Impact Project Awards. The project was created by Livestrong, the organization founded by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong to serve people affected by cancer and empower them to take action.
The cancer center and PCMH will use the $16,000 award to incorporate art therapy into cancer patients’ care with the ultimate goal of helping them and their families have the highest quality of life after diagnosis.
For those who have wondered if those Internet voting contests really work, here’s proof. Nearly 180 qualified hospitals, cancer centers and community organizations in eight regions across the United States were selected to participate in an online voting campaign. During a two-week period, more than 260,000 votes were cast, and the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center was among the finalists.
“We are thrilled and honored to be named as a Community Impact Project award recipient,” said Taylor Bell, community outreach coordinator for the Carolina Well Survivorship Program at the Jenkins Cancer Center. “This award will go a long way in helping people in our community who are affected by cancer. We want to give special thanks to everyone who voted in support of this program. Together, we’re making a difference in the lives of cancer survivors and their families.”
Founded and based in New York, the Creative Center Artists-in-Residence program offers patients the opportunity to learn about and become absorbed in their own creative resources during cancer diagnosis, treatment and survivorship. The program will work bedside and in small group settings with men, women and children in oncology units, intensive care/respiratory units, hospice and palliative care programs.
Livestrong is committed to supporting community organizations in their efforts to help cancer survivors face the challenges and changes that come with cancer. Since its inception in 1997, the organization has invested more than $68 million in community-centered organizations.
The mission of the Leo W. Jenkins Cancer Center is to improve cancer prevention, detection and treatment for the people of eastern North Carolina through patient care, teaching and research. The center supports research into the causes and treatment of cancer and sponsors educational programs about cancer for health professionals, patients and the general public.