Knight Cancer Institute grants support local efforts on cancer prevention, education
The Oregon Health & Science University Knight Cancer Institute has awarded grants to eight organizations across Oregon to address community-identified cancer needs, expanding access to prevention, screening and support services statewide.
The funding, from the Knight Cancer Institute’s Community Partnership Program, or CPP, supports projects across the cancer continuum — from early detection to survivorship — while meeting the diverse needs of Oregonians. Each organization will receive between $15,000 and $60,000 for one-year initiatives.
Since its launch in 2014, CPP has invested more than $6.6 million in 246 projects across Oregon. The goal is to reduce cancer disparities by working together with communities. The program is co-directed by Jackie Shannon, Ph.D., and Kerri Winters-Stone, Ph.D., both professors of medicine (oncological sciences) in the OHSU School of Medicine.
“The Community Partnership Program has been a conduit for organizations to build and use evidence-based programs to address pressing cancer-related needs in their communities, sharing in the mission of the Knight to collectively come together to reduce the cancer burden across the state of Oregon,” Winters-Stone said.
Local solutions for local challenges
Two programs illustrate the variety of education and prevention tactics the grants empower:
Columbia Gorge Discovery Center: Breathe Smarter: Educating Communities on Air Quality and Data-Driven Decisions to Reduce Cancer Risk from Wildfire Smoke.
Funding from CPP will expand the “Breathe Smarter” initiative, which helps Columbia Gorge residents use real-time air quality data to protect their health. With wildfire smoke and other pollution increasingly affecting daily life, the program focuses on teaching people how to interpret and apply air quality information. It will integrate this education into school programs and community partnerships.
“Our goal is for air quality data to feel just as familiar and easy to use as checking the weather,” said Danny Cosgrove, director of education at the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center. “We want people to naturally check it and adjust plans.”
Asian Health and Service Center: Asian Diet & Cancer II
Cultural and language barriers can make navigating care overwhelming. This program focuses on the relationship between Asian diet and cancer, providing holistic and culturally responsive support through nutrition education, culturally tailored cooking classes, and activities that foster trust, connection and community. Volunteer cancer survivors ensure that no one faces cancer alone.
“The OHSU Knight Cancer Community Partnership Program has helped us to make this program possible,” said Erik Szeto, D.O., founder and chairman of the Asian Health and Service Center. “Last year we helped more than 300 cancer patients and caregivers through our cancer support program, and we look forward to helping even more.”
Funding projects across Oregon
Community Partnership Program
Founded: 2014
Awarded: More than $6.6 million
Projects: 246 around Oregon
All eight funded projects reflect the breadth of cancer-related challenges facing Oregon communities.
“Over the past 10 years, the Community Partnership Program has made a real difference in communities across Oregon, supporting them in addressing their most pressing cancer-related needs,” Shannon said. “We want to put our resources toward addressing what we know are some of the biggest areas of disparity in cancer incidence and cancer outcomes across the state. We are honored to support these communities with funding, technical assistance and partnership.”
CPP grants are supporting the following local projects across Oregon:
- American Cancer Society, Oregon & SW Washington: Increasing Access to Lung Cancer Screenings and Care across Lane County
- Asian Health & Service Center: Asian Diet & Cancer II
- Columbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum: Breathe Smarter: Educating Communities on Air Quality and Data-Driven Decisions to Reduce Cancer Risk from Wildfire Smoke
- Community Pulse Association: Understating Barriers to Lung Cancer Screening among members from Slavic and Eastern European communities
- HIV Alliance: Low barrier access to HPV prevention services for underserved, at-risk populations in Lane County
- Northwest Medical Foundation of Tillamook: Tillamook Barriers to Cancer Care Project
- Santiam Hospital & Clinics: Cancer Compass, Guiding Patients and Providers Through Pathways of Screening and Early Diagnosis
- Southern Oregon Friends of Hospice: Enhancing Access to Palliative and Hospice Care for Hispanic Individuals Affected by Cancer
“The foundation of OHSU’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of Oregonians, and we know that doesn’t look the same for each community across Oregon,” said OHSU president Shereef Elnahal, M.D., M.B.A. “We are proud to have the Community Partnership Program support these local organizations — located from the coast to the Gorge, from the Willamette Valley to the Rogue Valley — and the people they serve.”