This application's major aim is to improve the care of cancer patients in a rural area of Upstate New York for which The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital serves as the major referral center. A second major goal is to expand and further develop cancer control activities in the area. These goals will be achieved by optimal participation in the cancer treatment protocols of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group, the Sidney Farber Cancer Institute, the Gynecologic Oncology Group, and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group. At least 60 patients per year from an available pool of 440 patients will be placed on protocol studies. An experienced team of oncologic physicians and nurses will collaborate closely with a full range of medical and surgical specialists. All participating physicians practice exclusively at The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital, a 184-bed teaching and research institution. An American College of Surgeons Clinical Cancer Program, in place for over 25 years, and an Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group data management system, operational for more than 10 years, will provide the administrative framework for our effort. Overall fiscal and administrative support will be supplied through existing mechanisms of the Bassett Hospital.
