I tried to post about this during the summer but have been having some technical difficulties posting on the blog since moving. I think I have things fixed now though, we’ll see.
I’ve been looking into jobs at Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and have noticed some interesting things. For more detailed information, go to: http://www.ohsu.edu/xd/health/services/cancer/about-us/. Some of the highlights I have noticed are as follows.
The Knight Cancer Institute, a part of OHSU, funds at least 1,000 research projects and 400 clinical trials every year. They are world renowned for their research in such cancers as colon, prostrate, and leukemia. They even led the research that caused the widespread use of colonoscopies to detect colon cancer early in its development.
Although cancer is not “cured”, there has been a lot of progress in eventually making it no longer a large threat. Part of this has been because of the collaboration used in research. As previously mentioned, collaboration was a key factor in the success and timeliness of the Human Genome Project. It has likewise helped advance cancer research in ways unimaginable otherwise. OHSU not only brings researchers together from around the world to work for them, but also collaborates with researchers from other institutions. They appear to be community oriented and solution focused.
The National Institute for Health was one of the main leaders in the Human Genome Project, and also spear-heads many other health programs. They research a lot in diseases and vaccines, as well as cancers. They have recognized some of the work done by OHSU, and its successes with the work. Although it is by far not the only institution to achieve success with its research, OHSU is known for its successes.
If you are interested in helping in the fight against cancer, one of the many groups you can donate to (assuming you have the financial capacity to do so) is OHSU. They are currently working on raising $500,000,000. If this goal is met, Nike will match the half billion for a total of one million dollars going toward finding ways to overcome this obstacle. Go to https://onedown.org/#1 to donate money. At this point, they are up to $448,374,28. If this is something you are not interested in donating to, don’t. It’s just an option if you are looking for ways to help. OHSU is known for their successes, and part of why they have been able to succeed is support from the community. Being from Oregon, I know more about OHSU than I do about other successful organizations from other areas. I’m not saying that OHSU is the only institution that donating to would help with this fight, or that donating is the answer. It is merely an option.
If you go to the above link for donating, there is a video on the second page, or https://onedown.org/#2. It talks about advances in fighting chronic myeloid leukemia. Although people still contract this cancer, it is no longer “a death sentence” as the video states. In order to stop a chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis from meaning death, OHSU scientists created the first targeted cancer treatment. Breakthroughs such as this will change how we look at cancers in the future.
Part of the success with OHSU’s cancer research has been the approach they take. Rather than fighting the cancers after the diagnosis has been made, they work on diagnosing cancers earlier than people have before. The sooner a cancer is diagnosed, the easier it is to win the fight against it. They do work with developing treatments to attack the cancers, but also with finding them early enough that patients are stronger when they start treatments and the cancers themselves are weaker.
The Human Genome Project and Cancer 