UCLA awarded $9.3 million to help provide prostate cancer treatment in the community

Members of the  UCLA urology department have received $9.3 million of funding from the state of California to help combat the financial burden of cancer treatment for men diagnosed with prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in American men.During the next three years, the award will directly support the 17-year-oldIMPACT program, which stands for Improving Access, Counseling and Treatment for Californians with prostate cancer.Dr. Mark Litwin, professor of urology in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and his team have led the efforts of the state-funded program that provides free, high-quality prostate cancer treatment to California men who are underinsured or uninsured.“With this program, the state of California made a statement that nobody should be left behind,” said Litwin, a member ofUCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and founding director of the program. “Our goal from the beginning has always been to provide treatment to the underserved, underinsured population in their own communities while helping improve their lives.”While more people are signing up for health insurance, many still cannot afford the costs of important health care services, especially when it comes to cancer treatments. More than one-third of insured people who have cancer and are receiving some type of therapy for their disease face out-of-pocket costs that are far greater than expected, with some paying almost one-third of their income in health care-related cos...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news