Moffitt Study Seeks Caregivers For Senior Cancer Patients, USA

Main Category: Caregivers / Homecare
Also Included In: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 15 Jan 2008 - 1:00 PDT

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If you are one of the millions of caregivers in the United States, you are an unsung hero of modern medicine. Patients rely on your support, and you potentially save the health care industry millions of dollars a year.

That is why Moffitt Cancer Center is interested in you.

"Support for caregivers is an essential part of good cancer treatment. They make the cure of their loved ones possible," said Lodovico Balducci, program leader of Moffitt's Senior Adult Oncology program. "Moffitt is at the forefront on the issue of caregivers for older cancer patients."

Because of Moffitt's strong involvement with caregivers, the cancer center has been awarded a National Institutes of Health grant to determine whether its caregiver protocol can become a model for the rest of the community.

Balducci is the principal investigator for the "Support of the Caregiver of the Older Cancer Patient Undergoing Chemotherapy" study.

To qualify for the randomized study, you must be the primary caregiver of a patient 70 or older receiving chemotherapy for large cell lymphoma or colon cancer. Researchers want to know if a brief training program for caregivers will give them confidence and help manage patients' symptoms, improving the quality of life for both.

Balducci is protocol chairman of the Geriatric Oncology Consortium, which conducts nationwide clinical trials in older individuals, and is chairman of the committee on guidelines for the management of older individuals of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). He has been involved with the caregiving effort of The Carter Center, an organization committed to advancing human rights and alleviating unnecessary human suffering.

About Moffitt Cancer Center

Located in Tampa, Florida, Moffitt Cancer Center is the only Florida-based cancer center with the NCI designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center for its excellence in research and contributions to clinical trials, prevention and cancer control. Moffitt currently has 15 affiliates in Florida, one in Georgia and two in Puerto Rico. Additionally, Moffitt is a member of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, a prestigious alliance of the country's leading cancer centers, and is listed in U.S. News & World Report as one of "America's Best Hospitals" for cancer and ear, nose and throat. Moffitt's sole mission is to contribute to the prevention and cure of cancer.

Moffitt Cancer Center

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