Side by side: Together against cancer
Hannover Medical School and University Medical Center Göttingen establish Comprehensive Cancer Center Lower Saxony. Opening ceremony with Science Minister Björn Thümler on Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Comprehensive Cancer Center Lower Saxony founded: (front from left): Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Brück (Spokesperson of the Board UMG), Björn Thümler (Lower Saxony Minister for Science and Culture), Prof. Dr. Michael M. Manns (President MHH); (back from left) Prof. Dr. Volker Ellenrieder (Director of the University Cancer Center Göttingen of the UMG), Prof. Dr. Peter Hillemanns (Director of the CCC Hannover) sign the "Letter of Support". Photo: umg/spförtner
(umg/mhh) Hannover Medical School (MHH) and University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) have taken the next step towards high-quality cancer care for Lower Saxony: On Wednesday, November 20, 2019, the Comprehensive Cancer Center Lower Saxony (CCC-N) began its work after more than a year of preparation. The aim of the cancer center, which operates throughout Lower Saxony, is to combine interdisciplinary cancer research and special expertise in patient care. In order to achieve this goal, non-university cancer care facilities in various cities across the state's borders will also be closely involved.
At the founding event at the MHH, Science Minister Björn Thümler welcomed the efforts of the Göttingen and Hanover Clinical Departments to establish the CCC-N. "Cancer is no longer an anonymous disease, but hits many people suddenly and hard. It is therefore our duty and responsibility to establish the best possible prevention programs and optimal care for patients in research, teaching and patient care. The founding of the CCC-Niedersachsen is a first milestone in improving cancer medicine in our state," said Thümler. "For this reason, the Ministry of Science is supporting the establishment of the CCC-N with one million euros."
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Brück, Spokesperson of the Board of the University Medical Center Göttingen, said: "The establishment of the CCC-Niedersachsen is an important signal for all people in Lower Saxony. They are gaining an extremely high level of expertise in the treatment of cancer at a high level of university medicine. I am particularly pleased about the successful and fruitful cooperation with the MHH. Both medical universities stand for a high level of expertise in oncological care."
"Every patient in Lower Saxony and the neighboring regions should know that they will receive the best possible care, regardless of which Clinical Department they come to," said Prof. Dr. Volker Ellenrieder, spokesperson for the CCC-N and Director of the University Cancer Center Göttingen at the UMG. In order to achieve this goal even better, the CCC-N has already launched a "Cancer Medicine Quality Campaign". "In Lower Saxony alone, around 50,000 people are newly diagnosed with cancer every year. It is therefore important to establish a CCC in Lower Saxony as the second largest federal state in order to provide all patients with the best possible care and to bundle new findings in research," says Ellenrieder. Together, the two university hospitals in Göttingen and Hanover treat up to 30,000 cancer patients per year. There are currently around eight million inhabitants in Lower Saxony.
The Comprehensive Cancer Center Network was established in 2007 on the initiative of German Cancer Aid. Through Germany-wide, interdisciplinary cooperation, new findings from research are to be made available more effectively and quickly for everyday clinical practice, thus benefiting all cancer patients. In addition to patient care, the new cross-site center is also launching joint research initiatives, primarily to overcome therapy resistance, to be able to use genetic and molecular biological methods specifically for therapy planning and to further develop immuno-oncological and interventional treatment approaches. "We also attach great importance to research into holistic cancer medicine," says Prof. Dr. Peter Hillemanns, co-spokesperson of the CCC-N and Director of the CCC Hannover. This is why, for example, palliative medicine and psycho-oncology research groups also work closely together. Last but not least, the CCC-N stands for the intensive promotion of young talent in various areas of cancer medicine. Special training courses for different professional groups (physicians, Nursing, psycho-oncologists and others) will ensure that the current level of knowledge and experience in dealing with cancer patients is broadened even further in the future.
Andrea Hahne, patient representative of the CCC Hannover and member of the "Cancer Self-Help / Patient Advisory Board" expert committee of German Cancer Aid, was delighted that Facilities or Institutions from Lower Saxony are now also becoming active in the network: "In this way, we can make advances in oncological research, prevention and patient care more easily accessible to all those affected and, conversely, benefit from the findings of other clinics: this is a gain for oncology in Germany," said Hahne. One example that is also clearly visible to patients is the CCC-N study platform, where patients and physicians will be able to find out about opportunities to participate in clinical trials very easily in future.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Universitätsmedizin Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität
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