Source: The News-Enterprise
ISSUE: HMH deepens relationship with Markey
OUR VIEW: Delivering better access, convenience
In September 2014, Hardin Memorial Health announced a new affiliation between the hospital’s Cancer Care Center and the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center.
With Markey’s prestigious designation as a National Cancer Institute research and treatment facility, HMH CEO Dennis Johnson touted the association as an opportunity to have greater access to more top quality treatment options and with improved convenience for local and area cancer patients.
Dr. Michael Karpf, UK executive vice presented for health affairs, went on to describe the partnership as a “win-win” collaboration for HMH and Markey.
This winning partnership is taking another important step forward. During a special ceremony two weeks ago, HMH and Markey officials announced Hardin Memorial’s Cancer Care Center will become one of four research sites connected to the Markey Cancer Center Research Network.
The partnership means HMH will have more streamlined access to and be able to locally conduct both Markey-led and NCI-led regional and national cancer clinical trials at the Cancer Care Center’s Robinbrooke Boulevard location in Elizabethtown.
As explained by Dr. Mark Evers, director of the UK Markey Cancer Center, participation in clinical trials provides those battling cancer with access to the latest and best treatment options available.
Local access means patients, their family members and friends – those who provide key support, encouragement, understanding and love to the patient – can remain under the direct care and supervision of physicians and specialists right here at home.
This is a huge convenience for patients.
Just as today’s accepted and effective treatment methods are the result of past clinical research, participation in such trials today will help lead to new and better prevention, detection and treatment procedures for those facing cancer tomorrow.
Kentucky is in a critical position when it comes to cancer statistics. Because of the prominence of risk factors such as smoking, obesity and a lack of detection screening, our state leads the nation in the number of annual deaths because of cancer.
Lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer killer in our state and at rates 50 percent higher than the national average. Kentucky’s mortality rates for breast, colorectal and cervical cancer rank in the top 10 nationally, too.
Given these alarming disease statistics, Markey’s range of clinical research studies targeting these particular areas of cancer will further elevate the importance of this new relationship for local patients.
Greater access to the most advanced treatments and therapies possible will lead to a more healthy community.
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