OU Health Stephenson Cancer Center achieved a renewal of its status as a National Cancer Institute, marking the center’s growth in helping those diagnosed with cancer across the state.
The Stephenson Center first received its NCI designation in 2018, according to a Friday OU press release, as a testament to its developments in research, education and community outreach. It is the only NCI-designated cancer center in Oklahoma and one of 71 centers nationwide, according to the release.
In a Friday ceremony commemorating the achievement, OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. said the honor marks the success of the OU cancer center in a state where many suffer from the illness. According to the release, one in two men and one in three women receive a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime in Oklahoma.
“This is our celebration today,” Harroz said. “This makes a difference in the lives of so many. When that 50 percent chance or that one in three chance hits us, … one in six Oklahomans knows they have a better chance because of Stephenson.”
Other speakers at the ceremony were OU Health President and CEO Richard Lofgren, U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice (R-Okla), U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla), Sen. Roger Thompson (R-Okemah), OU Health Director Robert Mannel and a phase one clinical trial patient, William Poole.
The NCI designation is the highest federal rating a cancer center can achieve, according to the release. Studies show patients who receive care at NCI centers can improve survival rates by up to 25 percent.
“This is about sustaining excellence,” Cole said. “Five years from now, we'll have the opportunity to take another step forward. Quite frankly, there are even higher recognitions than the one we have here today in the repeat award of a National Cancer Institute Designation of excellence. The challenge I would put to each of you and all of us up here on the stage is we need to make sure five years from now, we're here celebrating that next great step.”
Harroz said in the next few years, the Stephenson Center will work to increase their research and outreach by expanding to Norman and Tulsa. After his journey with his sister, who was diagnosed with cancer, Harroz said the center’s proximity to different communities matters.
“It's stunning how many times you have to come into this building and go to the second floor from fusion or downstairs to radiation or surgery across the way,” Harroz said. “You don't want to get treated one time. It's months and months and years and years when you go in many times every single week on that journey.”
To continue reaching communities in Oklahoma that do not always have access to the cancer center, Mannel said the center maintains relationships with tribal nations, nonprofits, businesses and churches across Oklahoma to educate and increase public awareness about cancer.
Mannel said the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, a state trust devoted to preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease, is contributing to the development of the Oklahoma Mobile Lung Cancer Screening Action Network, which will make lung cancer screenings more accessible to communities.
“As was mentioned, we're on a journey,” Mannel said. “This isn't an endpoint. This is a sign of progress. Over the next five years, we will continue to expand our presence across Oklahoma in a variety of ways. Stevenson Cancer Center is a resource for Oklahomans no matter where they live in our state. Today's celebration of the renewal of our NCI designation is a recommitment to that hard work into the people we serve.”
This story was edited by Alexia Aston and Jazz Wolfe. Nikkie Aisha copy edited this story.
