Public Health & Cancer Awareness

CANCER PREVENTION

Experts believe that up to 50% of cancers can be prevented. That’s because certain daily habits can make us more likely to get cancer. Changing these habits may help prevent cancer.

5 lifestyle changes that may reduce your cancer risk:

  • Quit smoking (802quits.org is Vermont's tobacco cessation resource. ). 
  • Make healthy food choices.
  • Get regular checkups & screenings.
  • Stay active.
  • Protect your skin with sun safe behaviors.

LEARN MORE

 

COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS

With regular screening, almost all colorectal cancer can be prevented. If you are 45 or older, please talk to your doctor about screening options. 

VIEW RESOURCES

 

SKIN CANCER AWARENESS: "BE SUN SAFE" 

Did you know that Vermont has the second highest incident rate of melanoma in the U.S.?
May is skin cancer awareness month and by limiting sun exposure you can reduce your skin cancer risk.
Three Prevention Tips:

  1. Cover up. Wear wide-brimmed hats, sun-protective clothing and sunglasses.
  2. Stay indoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. or seek shade.
  3. Wear sunscreen, with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

Early detection promotes successful treatment, talk to your doctor about your screening options. 

Summer Safety Tips: Find some simple health and safety tips for summertime activities.

Something New Under The Sun: Learn about the signs of melanoma.

9 Things I'd Never Do As A Dermatologist: Summer's coming. How many of these ski 'don'ts' do you do?

 

PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer. UVM Cancer Center clinical member, Shahid Ahmed, MD, MBBS, a medical oncologist specializes in cancers of the urinary system and the reproductive organs in men and provides an overview of diagnosis and tips to manage treatment side effects in this Healthsource article. 

READ ARTICLE

 

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Women's Health and Cancer Conference: View recordings of presentations and panels about surgical options, survivorship, integrative care, palliative care, and breakthrough advances in the research.

Breast Cancer Portfolio: Learn more about the UVM Cancer Center's research, education, community outreach, and clinical care related to breast cancer.

Clinical Trials: See what clinical trials are being offered related to breast cancer.

Genetic Testing for Cancer and Risk Assessment: Learn about the team of clinicians who provide genetic screening and risk assessment.

Screening Guidelines: The American Cancer Society recommends these screening guidelines. 

Breast Cancer Screening: Reach out to your primary care provider or the Breast Care Center if you are due for a screening.

Support Services: There are many resources for patients in treatment or patients who have completed their treatment, including support groups and the popular Steps to Wellness class. 

 

LUNG CANCER AWARENESS: "GET CHECKED, IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE"

Lung Cancer Public Health Campaign. The UVM Cancer Center teamed up with Dartmouth Cancer Center and Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer to encourage more Vermonters to get screened for lung cancer. When detected early, local tumors can be removed which increases the patient's survival rate from 24% to 60%.

Learn more about:

  • Guidelines
  • Screening locations in Vermont
  • Eligibility requirements

VIEW CAMPAIGN

Lung Cancer Research. Learn more about the Cunniff lab's promising new therapy for mesothelioma and metastatic cancer, which is currently a Phase I clinical trial. 

Clinical Trials: See what clinical trials are being offered related to lung cancer.

News Headlines:

UVM Cancer Center 2024 Juckett Summer Fellows

July 15, 2024 by Kate Strotmeyer

Greta Joos (left) and Maggie Trout (right)

The UVM Cancer Center is busy this summer as mentors and summer scholars get to work on their research projects. With a record number of applications, twenty students were awarded a $4,000 stipend to deepen their engagement, hone their skills, and drive towards new discoveries under the guidance of a UVM Cancer Center member. Among the group, two scholars were selected to receive the prestigious Juckett Summer Fellowship, which is awarded to the highest scoring applicants in part for their impactful cancer research and apparent student outcomes.

Greta Joos  

Greta Joos was recently awarded the Juckett  from the UVM Cancer Center. Greta is a rising second year medical student at the Larner College of Medicine. Drawn to UVM because of its focus on community-based health care, Greta is eager to spend the summer studying “Access to non-FDA approved therapeutics for pediatric oncology patients at the University of Vermont Medical Center”. 

While groundbreaking advances have been made in the treatment of pediatric cancers, numerous challenges remain, especially for patients with rare, relapsed, and/or refractory disease. For these patients, non-FDA approved therapies harbor important therapeutic potential. Access to these therapeutics, however, can be limited by cost, lack of industry sponsorship, regulatory requirements, and logistical challenges for patients and their families. Patients from rural areas, like many of the regions served by UVMMC, may be especially susceptible to barriers to access due to lack of public transportation, distance to healthcare facilities, inability [for parents] to miss work, and expense of personal vehicle ownership. As part of the UVMCC Summer Fellowship, Greta is working with Jessica Heath, MD and UVM undergraduate Brody Brown to investigate the potential impact of social determinants of health, such as zip code, race, primary language, and immigration status, on access to non-FDA approved cancer therapies for pediatric patients. 

The results of this study are important for elucidating methods to increase access to vital cancer treatments, both for patients at UVMMC and in other rural and/or medically underserved settings. 

Future work will focus on devising strategies to better understand and address any identified barriers to access. 

Maggie Trout  

Maggie Trout was recently awarded the Juckett Summer Fellowship from the UVM Cancer Center. Maggie is a 2nd year graduate student in the Cellular, Molecular, and Biomedical Sciences program. Drawn to UVM because of its strong emphasis on scientific collaboration, Maggie is eager to spend the summer studying combinatorial drug therapy in diffuse midline glioma. 

Diffuse midline glioma is a deadly pediatric brain tumor with an average survival of less than a year past diagnosis. A promising new chemotherapy called ONC201 has been shown to extend survival and improve quality of life for DMG patients, however, relapse is common and not all individuals respond equally well. As part of the UVMCC Summer Fellowship, Maggie and James Stafford, PhD will investigate if the effectiveness of ONC201 can be increased by combining it with thiostrepton, an inhibitor of the antioxidant enzyme PRX3. 

The results of this study are important for advancing the cancer field as they may point to new treatment options for individuals with this devastating brain tumor. 

Future work will focus on testing other chemotherapy combinations in DMG. 

 

View the full directory of summer students, projects, and mentors including lay summaries of the research:

 

2024 UVM Cancer Center Summer Students and Mentors (PDF).