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30 Donations from the Enmarket Savannah Bridge Run and individual running teams over the years have been instrumental in building a cancer center where patients don't have to leave home to get the latest treatment. The Nancy N. and J.C. Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion (LCRP) at St. Joseph's/Candler is a comprehensive treatment center with advanced technology, expert oncologists and clinical trials. We've seen how valuable it is to patients when they have a support system of family and friends always near. To strengthen the Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion even more, we have teamed with Northside Hospital in Atlanta to create a partnership that was selected by the National Cancer Institute to be part of the NCI's Community Oncology Research Program. Dubbed NCORP, partnership will provide Georgians with deeper cancer services and broader regional accessibility, with 110 oncology clinical providers in 41 different locations throughout the state, as well as the clinical trial leadership and research management services of Georgia CORE. "We know that 85 percent of cancer patients in the United States are diagnosed in or near the communities in which they live, which tells us that easier access to care is critical," said Paul P. Hinchey, President & CEO of St. Joseph's/Candler. "Very simply, the NCORP partnership means that cancer patients will not have to travel long distances or leave loved ones to take part in an NCI-sponsored clinical trial. The positive implications for minority, elderly, underserved and rural populations, in particular, are likely to be substantial." During the past decade, the LCRP has made significant advancements in treatment that lead to this partnership. Some of the accomplishments include: 1. Implemented a nurse navigation program that decreased time from screening mammogram to biopsy down to six days. The Institute of Medicine's benchmark is 14 days. 2. Expanded multi-disciplinary clinics, where physicians from different specialties meet to determine a comprehensive treatment for a patient. The LCPR has doubled the Commission on Cancer's standard for number of patients put in multi-disciplinary clinics. 3. Developed a system to put patients on early phase clinical trials. The LCRP has 65 open trials, and 21 of those are early phase. 4. Screened 2,663 patients for cancer at St. Joseph's/Candler's free clinics in the last two years. CANCER TREATMENTS IN YOUR BACK YARD