Highlighting some of the achievements and activities of University of Illinois Cancer Center members, trainees and staff in this Cancer Center Happenings collection.
Loretto Hospital Community Cupboard
Some members of the Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE) team participated in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Loretto Hospital Community Cupboard on October 16. The Cancer Center is helping to sponsor the cupboard because food insecurity is a cancer risk. Pictured (left to right) from CEHE are Paula Yates, a Community Advisory Board member who also is Chief Impact and Strategy officer at Loretto and Executive Director of the Loretto Hospital Foundation; Director Dedra Ries, MPH; Community Health Navigator Theresa Mobley; and Research Specialist Tasha Carlisle.
Cancer Center Community Impact Forum
Leadership in the Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE) attended the Cancer Center Community Impact Forum held in Miami October 11-13. CEHE Director Dedra Ries, MPH, and CEHE Associate Director Jeanette Santana Gonzalez, MSHRMD, participated in the national annual meeting of National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center professionals and professionals at cancer centers working toward NCI-designation. The meeting is an opportunity to learn strategies for working on the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) – Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) component, share expertise and network with peers.
Big Ten CRC Summit
At the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium Annual Summit, Cancer Center Associate Director for Clinical Research Oana Danciu, MD, was among the presenters of recently closed studies. Danciu is sponsor, investigator and study chair of “A Single-Arm Phase 2 Study of Palbociclib in Combination with Tamoxifen as First Line Therapy for Metastatic Hormone Receptor Positive Breast Cancer.” Other Cancer Center staff and leadership, including Deputy Director VK Gadi, MD, PhD, attended the summit held in the Chicago area in September.
American Cancer Society Ball
Cancer Center staff were among the volunteers at the American Cancer Society Discovery Ball held in September in Chicago. Pictured (left to right): are Aileen Shen, MPH, Senior Research Specialist in Illinois Cancer Health Equity Research (I-CHER) Center, which sits within the Cancer Center; Lisi Rivera, I-CHER’s Community Advisory Board Chair; Jeanette Santana Gonzalez, MSHRMD, Associate Director for the Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity; and Angelina Izguerra, Research Associate in the Cancer Center’s Cancer Prevention and Survivorship programs.
Peer Plus Fundraiser
The Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement and Health Equity (CEHE) attended the Peer Plus: Dance to the Music Annual Fundraiser at the Harborside International Golf Center in Chicago on October 1. The Cancer Center is grateful to have Peer Plus as a valued and supportive community partner. Peer Plus works with the Cancer Center’s CEHE Office to identify and refer women in need of breast health education so they learn the importance of breast cancer screening. Peer Plus works directly with CEHE to use culturally sensitive breast health information to promote state-of-the-art 3D imaging breast cancer screening at Jackson Park Hospital on Chicago’s South Side. Pictured (left to right in the middle) are CEHE Research Specialist Mona Strahan, MPH, and Director Dedra Ries, MPH, and their spouses.