Our mission is to provide local access to the most up-to-date cancer research for both physicians and patients.
Helping to Enhance Research in OncologySM
(The HERO Program)
NMCCA's HERO Program provides access to the latest information on cancer research for the public and for medical professionals. Through our HERO Education Outreach Program, we bring nationally-known speakers to Albuquerque and provide local experts to inform people about the latest developments in cancer research and treatment. Our community newsletter concentrates on one cancer disease site per issue in addition to providing information about NMCCA s recent efforts.
NMCCA is a network of the healthcare institutions and approximately 93 cancer treatment physicians in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Las Cruces, New Mexico and is in the process of expanding throughout the state. Many Alliance physicians treat patients from throughout the state of New Mexico.
Our Goals
1. Make it easier for cancer patients to participate in a clinical trial
Click here for information about clinical trials. To see a list of available clinical trials, click here.
A local clinical trial allows patients to remain in their home and community as much as possible while receiving care from a physician they know. Additionally, their family, friends and loved ones are nearby. Having a support group nearby during treatment greatly benefits patients.
2. Increase the quality of cancer care in New Mexico
Clinical research studies (also known as clinical trials) are medical research studies involving people. Cancer clinical research studies test experimental drugs, new combinations of treatments, new approaches to surgery or radiation, or other previously untried methods for treating cancer. A clinical trial has the potential to increase the quality of care patients receive in the long term because it makes medical research more accurate and in the short term because the patient's treatment is followed closely by the cancer research staff.
3. Ensure access for all New Mexicans to the best cancer therapies offered through clinical research studies.
Watch a video detailing - What are they early signs of Lung Cancer?
Cancer Hospitals in Albuquerque
* There are many reasons, economic and emotional, that patients do not participate in clinical research studies. One possibility is that some patients may not be aware of the level of care, including clinical trials, available in New Mexico. These patients may believe they must look for treatment at cancer centers elsewhere in the US and may decide not to participate in a cancer clinical trial because traveling outside the state for treatment is too costly.
* Having clinical research studies available locally can reassure a patient that they can manage the costs and their support system will remain nearby during their treatment.
Our Strategies
1. Provide the structure needed to make participating in a clinical research study easier for New Mexico cancer patients.
NMCCA will work with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and private organizations to bring clinical trials to the state. NCI-sponsored studies, in particular, usually provide physicians with greater access to new, experimental anti-cancer agents. Through NMCCA, community specialists can receive access to these agents, enroll patients in clinical studies and treat them according to research protocols in their own New Mexico-based practices.
2. Provide public education on medical issues for cancer
CONTACT
info@nmcca.org
(505) 272-7813
Fax: (505) 272-7799
