Dec. 19--Areas with the highest cancer rates in the Chicago area have shifted from the city to the suburbs, researchers say, and a $1.5 million federal grant to two Illinois universities will help fight this disparity in the south suburbs.
Officials from Governors State University in University Park and the University of Illinois Cancer Center in Chicago held a town hall meeting Friday morning to announce Project GUIDE, which will use the four-year grant from the National Cancer Institute for community-based research with the goal of reducing the disparity.
The grant money will pay for developing training to conduct independent research and for career-development support to minority students at Governors State who are interested in researching the disparity, according to university officials.
"The partnership between the University of Illinois Cancer Center and Governors State University in Project GUIDE will transform lives and communities," GSU Provost Deborah Bordelon said in a prepared statement. "This collaborative effort will make a difference right now in our Southland communities as well as support the development of future leaders in cancer health disparities research."
The Chicago region has experienced a "geographic shift" in its areas that have the highest cancer rates, according to one U of I researcher. The hardest hit now are the suburbs, which often lack the infrastructure for cancer research.
The research funding also will help GSU pursue larger federal grants to further address the higher cancer and cancer-death rates in the Southland, GSU officials said.
The federal grant also will fund a pilot project that will test a mobile device app that lets doctors screen women for an elevated risk of breast cancer, according to university officials.
