Patricia Ganz Presents Research on Cancer Survivorship
, by by Jennifer K. Loukissas, M.P.P.
Drs. Jacqueline Vo, Patricia Ganz, Stephen Chanock, and Lindsay Morton
In November, Dr. Patricia Ganz, Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Management and Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, Fielding School of Public Health, David Geffen School of Medicine, and Director of Cancer Prevention & Control Research at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, spent two days at the NCI Shady Grove Campus as a DCEG Visiting Scholar. Her visit was co-hosted by Lindsay Morton, Ph.D., Director, Radiation Epidemiology Branch (REB) and Head, DCEG Cancer Survivorship Research Unit (CSRU), and Jacqueline B. Vo, Ph.D., R.N., M.P.H., tenure track investigator, REB and CSRU.
Dr. Ganz, who was a founding member of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship which coined the phrase ‘cancer survivor,’ to replace cancer victim, presented an overview of her research investigating long-term or late effects of treatment for breast cancer in a talk entitled, “‘Not Just Tired’: The Biology of Fatigue and Cognitive Changes after Breast Cancer Treatment.” Many cancer patients are living longer after diagnosis as a result of early detection and improved treatment approaches. In response, research on the long-term health of the rapidly growing population of cancer survivors is also increasing. “We are increasing morbidity with our successful treatments,” observed Dr. Ganz. “It’s really premature aging, manifesting symptoms of premature aging.” She went on to discuss interventions to alleviate fatigue during and after treatment. Examples include the use of mindfulness and yoga for both exercise and mental/meditative benefits, which can be adapted to all sorts of patients and reduces fatigue, improves vigor, and results in a change for the better in various biomarkers.
In addition to the seminar, Dr. Ganz met with fellows in a lunch-and-learn to talk about mentoring, career progression, and to share words of wisdom from her distinguished career in breast cancer prevention and survivorship. She then met with DCEG scientists at all levels for two roundtable discussions on “the continuum of breast cancer research, from prevention to survivorship” and “survivorship research approaches to impact clinical guidelines.” Her visit also included one-on-one meetings with collaborators and Division leadership and the Office of Cancer Survivorship in the Division of Cancer Control and Populations Sciences.