The University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center Offers Patient Care and Research Facilities
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Comprehensive Cancer Center (CCC) is one of 41 such facilities in the nation, and it is the only facility of its type within a five neighboring states region. The UAB Cancer Center provides the community with cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment services while another branch of the complex conducts research on the disease.
A CCC designation is only awarded to those institutions that offer advanced cancer services, and these cancer centers are a direct result of federal legislation passed in 1971 that addressed the need for comprehensive cancer services and up-to-date research initiatives. Ongoing reviews of all CCC facilities ensure continued compliance with federally established standards for cancer patient care and research, and the UAB Cancer Center has maintained its accreditation throughout the 35 years of its existence.
The UAB Cancer Center attracts a diverse group of oncologists who treat all forms of cancer at the Alabama medical complex. In addition to its treatment and research initiatives, the Birmingham cancer center offers ancillary services and programs such as:
- Support Groups and Services
- Clinical Trials
- Patient Companions
- Patient Research Library
- Cancer Education and Prevention Programs
- Financial Assistance Information and More
- UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Status and Funding
The nation’s 41 CCC facilities do not fall under any formal ranking system that compares the overall performance of one cancer center to another. There are, however, National Cancer Institute (NCI) grants that are awarded to CCC’s that provide the community with advanced cancer services, and one such grant is a “Specialized Program of Research Excellence” or SPORE award. The UAB Cancer Center is partially funded by multi-million dollar SPORE grants for the cancer center’s research efforts in breast cancer, brain tumor, and pancreatic cancer. Overall funding for the Alabama facility is provided by over $100 million in federal and private funds.
Patient Treatment Facilities
The UAB Cancer Center is, for the most part, housed on or directly adjacent to the UAB campus. Outpatient services are offered at three locations: the Kirkland Clinic in Hematology-Oncology, the Breast Health Center, the Prostate Center, and the multidisciplinary GI Clinic. Gynecologic patients are cared for at the Highlands facility, which is located just off campus. The Wallace Tumor Institute serves as UAB’s radiotherapy center, though, most patients receive care within the UAB Hospital’s Jefferson Tower or West and North Pavilions.
A Cancer Services Outreach Program from the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center: Deep South
The UAB Cancer Center, in collaboration with the University of Mississippi, the University of Alabama, and Tuskegee University, has established a cancer fighting outreach program known as “Deep South”, which is designed to deliver critical cancer services to rural and urban areas that have high African-American or other minority populations in Alabama and Mississippi.
The above-mentioned areas have been traditionally underserved by adequate health care in general, and in particular when it comes to the sophisticated and costly therapies associated with the treatment of cancer. The Deep South program concentrates its efforts on colon, breast, and cervical cancer-three of the deadliest forms of the disease that can be better managed through cancer education efforts that lead to increased screenings and early detection. To accomplish its goals, UAB’s Deep South program has developed a number of community-centric strategies such as outlined below:
- Community Health Advisors: The Deep South collaboration finds and trains individual community members who are well-suited to become local ‘helpers’ in an ongoing campaign to increase cancer awareness amongst those who live in poorer communities. These local citizens are trained in a wide variety of communication techniques that allow them to become an effective voice in the local cancer fighting community.
- Educating the Government: Many local and state politicians can also remain uninformed on many of the cancer related issues. Government awareness and participation in the fight against cancer is critical, and the UAB Cancer Center’s Deep South initiative seeks to increase the level of cancer awareness amongst politicians at all levels of government.
Contact The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
For more complete information about the UAB Cancer Center, visit their website at www3.ccc.uab.edu or to make an appointment with a physician, contact the Cancer Answer Line at (205) 975-8222 or call them toll free at (800) UAB-0933.
UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
1802 6th Avenue South
North Pavilion 2500
Birmingham, AL 35294-3300
Google map to UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center
