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LOS ANGELES, April 29, 2019 / PRNewswire / – USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Lazarex Foundation Against Cancer mark history with a new program allowing countless cancer patients to choose hope rather than the hospice. IMPACT (I AMprove Patient Aaccess Cancer Clinear Trials) is a unique program that combines financial reimbursement, education and education programs to help cancer patients learn about and access advanced treatments in clinical trials.
The ultimate goal of IMPACT is to create equal access to clinical trials for all patients and to prove that by removing the financial barriers to participation that currently exist, we can improve staffing, retention and retention. minority participation. The result could lead to better treatments for all and faster. IMPACT involves a groundbreaking collaboration between the Lazarex Foundation Against Cancer, Amgen – the founding sponsor of IMPACT, the UCSF Helen Diller Cancer Research Center and USC Norris.
IMPACT's goal is to inform patients about clinical trials as an opportunity to treat advanced cancers, as well as to reimburse the travel expenses of the patient and his / her companion needed to get to the clinical trial site. When people can not afford to try treatment trials, the research suffers. Only 5% of qualified patients participate in cancer clinical trials and the majority of patients state that it is because they can not afford the extra expenses. Travel costs add up quickly for frequent airline tickets, hotel stays, parking, gas and / or tolls, and many patients can not afford the cost of dialing. As a result, they are forced to choose between simple living expenses and the pursuit of hope in a clinical trial.
"By offering reimbursements via IMPACT, patients can say" yes "to participation in clinical trials", m said Dana Dornsife, Founder of Lazarex Cancer Foundation. "As a result, clinical trials increase the number of patients recruited, the participation of minorities and patients are better able to monitor the course of the trial, which increases the chances that clinical trials will be successful and that more treatments be approved more quickly by the FDA. "
The Lazarex IMPACT program will also be studied as a non-therapeutic interventional trial focused on educating cancer patients in clinical trials as a treatment option and providing the opportunity for a clinical trial. financial reimbursement at the time of the patient's consent. USC community partners and oncology clinics are also encouraged to refer patients to the IMPACT program.
"USC Norris is located in a region rich in diversity. Our doctors and researchers are therefore particularly well placed to collect vital statistics about populations that might otherwise be discovered. " m said Darcy Spicer, MD, principal investigator of IMPACT and badociate professor of medicine at the Keck School of Medicine's USC. Dr. Spicer is also head of medical oncology at USC Norris. "We hope this study will allow more people to access the burgeoning clinical innovations, while informing the scientific community of the most effective ways to treat cancer."
In addition, IMPACT is coordinating a community outreach effort called NeighborGood with other community organizations, counselors, health clinics and health fairs to raise public awareness of topics such as early diagnosis through screening, clinical trial training, etc., to improve outcomes for patients' health. .
As part of a 3-year pilot program at Mbadachusetts General Hospital, IMPACT improved the number of patients enrolled by 29% and doubled minority participation.
ABOUT THE LAZAREX CANCER FOUNDATION:
Lazarex is the only non-profit organization United States which helps patients find clinical trials and reimburses them for travel expenses incurred by participation in these clinical trials. In 13 years, Lazarex has helped more than 4,000 patients in clinical trials. In 2018, at the instigation of Lazarex, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) changed its official guidelines by proposing new wording allowing pharmaceutical companies to reimburse patients for patients' travel expenses to clinical trials, even if all the promoters do not do it.
AVAILABLE INTERVIEWS:
Dana Dornsife – Lazarex / Founder of IMPACT and Chairman of the Board
Clara Salas – USC Norris patient
Silver Stoltsen – USC Norris patient
Dr. Darcy Spicer – head of medical oncology, USC Norris, Principal Investigator of IMPACT
Media contacts:
Laura Evans Manatos
301.379.6028
[email protected]
SOURCE Lazarex Cancer Foundation
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