NCI is dedicated to science at the highest level: research that leads to effective interventions with reduced toxicity; diagnosis at earlier, more treatable stages; and prevention strategies based on a molecular understanding of carcinogenesis and targeted interventions. But our mission to reduce the burden of cancer doesn't end there. A vital component of NCI's research focuses on America's growing population of cancer survivors, who now number more than 10 million, up from only 3 million in 1971.

For a great many patients, cancer's effects continue long after treatment is completed. Consequently, NCI's survivorship science, under the leadership of the Office of Cancer Survivorship (OCS), seeks to understand, for example, why two patients with strikingly similar tumors may face starkly different possibilities of future disease recurrence. We also track and study the experiences of former patients in order to obtain deeper knowledge about the posttreatment effects of cancer drugs and devices. And we seek answers about how patients can better cope with the emotional and financial pressures that may result from successful treatment.  Read more  

At this year's biennial cancer survivorship research conference, "Cancer Survivorship: Embracing the Future," held October 4-6 at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel in Bethesda, Md., more than 400 people gathered to discuss the state of the science for cancer survivorship.

"Survivors often find their ordeal transformed into an experience of growth and self-realization," explained Ellen Stovall, president and CEO of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship, during her opening address. "They can try to help others by leaving them hints as to how to survive."  Read more  

The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases. For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit http://www.cancer.gov. NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.