OSF contributes to Cancer Moonshot efforts

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Cancer Services and the Cancer Support Community is uniting with hundreds of national leaders across the health care community, academic researchers, private industry leaders, philanthropists, survivors and advocates for one goal: Ending cancer.

The background

Vice President Joe Biden, who lost his son Beau to brain cancer in May 2015, is using his son’s life and death as inspiration to create the Cancer Moonshot Task Force. The goal is to “double the rate of progress” toward finding a cure, Biden wrote in a blog post.

“The science, data, and research results are trapped in silos, preventing faster progress and greater reach to patients,” he explained.

The task force’s plan is twofold: increase public and private resources devoted to fighting cancer and dramatically improve the coordination between every entity devoted to fighting cancer. But ultimately, the patient is central to the Cancer Moonshot – from risk factor reductions through diagnosis, treatment and survivorship.

Doing our part

And that is what is central to OSF Cancer Services – the patient. Our goal is to sustain a conversation about research, education and collaborative ideas from within our community.

To meet that goal, OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Cancer Services had two community meetings to gather input, with a third planned for August 27.

Kathi Copelen, Cancer Clinics Coordinator, shares her notes from the two meetings below, as well as her hopes for the future.

June 29

summit

Members of the community gather at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center to watch a live stream of Vice President Joe Biden’s speech at the Cancer Moonshot Summit.

We first gathered to watch a live stream of Biden’s speech to launch the Cancer Moonshot Summit. Our community was well represented: physicians, patients, our foundation, cancer administrative leaders and health care providers.

Our conversation started immediately after the vice president spoke, and our community really spoke up. All the ideas and concerns were put down on paper and sent on to the White House.

Our group started with the “What Matters to You” agenda (comments, struggles, ideas, etc.). Ideas ranged from family finances (e.g., need for a financial counselor), educational needs and how open communication and less hidden agendas will help the public trust the medical community and result in an increase in participation of clinical research. I was surprised to learn there was a lack of trust. You can’t fix what you don’t know is broken. It made me think we should open our ears and hear how the public feels on all sorts of health care subjects.

Insurance preauthorization was a hot topic. It was hard for participants to understand how a representative of an insurance company can delay the necessary procedures patients need for a fast and accurate diagnosis. A survivor pointed out the need for community collaboration between the treating institutions and support services. She expressed a need for more continuum of care to squelch the “falling off the radar” feeling once treatment was completed. All in attendance thought this is vital for comprehensive care, which we at OSF Saint Francis provide through our Survivorship program at Cancer Support Community.

And, of course, we had some naysayers. Some people referred to the Cancer Moonshot as the Cancer “Longshot” which led discussion into the Human Genome Project. The Human Genome Project resulted in insignificant advances in cancer research and treatment, so our group wants to know how that project compares to today’s Cancer Moonshot!

As you can see, no one held back. Conversation went both pro and con, and it certainly ran the gambit.

July 30

A second group, a cancer support group, got together on July 30 at the Peoria Riverfront Museum’s Planetarium (keeping with the Moonshot theme!).

Using the same agenda, the conversation turned to the need for an organized voice for cancer patients within the medical community. The purpose would be to allow open discussions about treatment options. Patients would be free to share with physicians and nurses how they would like to be approached.

A good example was the fact that some of our survivors received their initial diagnosis over the phone. That was unacceptable to everyone, and I could tell they wanted to be an active participant in their treatment. And this is what Cancer Support Services is there for – patient empowerment!

Takeaways from both meetings

Unfortunately, attendance dropped at the second summit. I would love for more people to be actively involved in this effort.

Also, I was surprised that our community was unaware of the Cancer Support Community Services. After all, that is why we were a part of the Moonshot Summit.

But Cancer Support Community Services is more than just the Moonshot Summit. Its mission is to ensure all people impacted by cancer are empowered by knowledge, strengthened by action and sustained by community, so that no one faces cancer alone. That is what all our Moonshot conversations revolve around.

On a positive note, it’s clear our patient population is more informed and involved than ever. It helped me understand that our patients want an active role in their treatment and a more personal relationship with their physicians. It truly influences their health decisions.

The Moonshot gave central Illinois a voice in cancer care all the way to the White House, which these 31 people took seriously – as they should. It created an opportunity to educate our community about Cancer Support Community and what OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Cancer Services offers them throughout their cancer continuum. Support is offered both face to face at our Cancer Support Community offices at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and online through www.cancersupportcommunity.org.

Looking to the future

Most importantly, I gained 31 new friends, and we will be meeting with a cancer survivor group on August 27 to keep the ball rolling. Hopefully, by then, the White House will have updated us about our ideas and suggestions. We will also work on solutions for some of the problems we discovered. If you want to learn more about our efforts, or join us during a meeting, please give me a call at 309-363-6429.

Last Updated: March 16, 2018

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About Author: David Pruitt

David Pruitt is a writer for the Marketing & Communications division of OSF HealthCare. He has a bachelor’s of journalism from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and worked as a reporter before joining OSF HealthCare in 2014.

An avid golfer and fisherman, David was born and raised Alton, Illinois, which is where he currently resides with his son, James.

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Categories: Cancer