$1.5 million awarded for palliative car...( New York NY -- The American Cancer So...),Health

New York, NY -- The American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC) are awarding $1.5 million in research grants to researchers at ten institutions for studies aimed at reducing suffering for seriously ill patients and their family caregivers. The studies will be conducted over the next two years.

"These grants will bring much-needed research dollars to a field that has become an increasingly important part of patient care, but for which federal funding is inadequate," said JeromeYates, MD, vice president of research for the American Cancer Society. "This collaborative parallel initiative with the NPCRC has the potential to make significant contributions towards reducing suffering caused by cancer and other serious illnesses."

Palliative care is the medical specialty focused on the relief of suffering and support for the best possible quality of life for people living with serious illness. It is an interdisciplinary field focusing on patients with multiple chronic illnesses, functional impairment, and a high burden of family caregiving responsibilities. It is not dependent on prognosis.

The new collaborative initiative between the American Cancer Society and the National Palliative Care Research Center is designed to support clinician investigators conducting patient-oriented research in palliative care in hopes of bringing more funding from federal agencies, which have supported some research in palliative care, but for whom it is not a priority area. Pilot data results are typically needed before a federal agency will consider funding a research project.

"One of the major barriers to reducing suffering for people living with a serious illness like cancer has been the lack of research funding directed towards palliative care interventions." said NPCRC Director R. Sean Morrison, MD, who is also professor of Palliative Care, Geriatrics and Medicine at Mount School of Medicine. "The goal of this i
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1-May-2007