Dr. Butros is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and the director of the Pediatric YES Clinic at the University of New Mexico. The Hyundai Hope on Wheels grant will support the following planned activity in our Young Enduring Survivors (YES) Clinic. To date, they have been able to start and maintain the database effort and to continue to provide evidence-based medicine in the field of childhood cancer survivorship. They also disseminate this information to patients and primary care providers in the community.
Dr. Butros has analyzed 146 leukemia survivors from the database for growth hormone and other hormone deficiencies, and found a significant risk for growth hormone deficiency in survivors of T cell leukemia. These results were presented in a poster session at the recent 2010 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. She plans to add to the database this year to get to a statistically significant number of T cell leukemia survivors for publication. The goal is to have enough T cell leukemia survivors in the database to submit my results for publication by the end of the academic year 2010–2011.
They are also beginning to look at osteoporosis, low bone density, and joint disease in childhood cancer survivors. This is a significant problem in children treated with years of chemotherapy, including steroids. The team will analyze the magnitude of the problem in childhood cancer survivors here in New Mexico and compare results to childhood cancer survivors nationwide. They will also compare the impact of the different types of steroids used in different protocols for acute lymphoblastic leukemia on our patients’ bone densities.
The Hyundai Scholars Grant funds will also be used to support a community outreach effort targeting cancer survivors, caregivers, and healthcare providers. Their (June) 2011 National Cancer Survivor Day conference planning is already underway, with the first planning committee meeting taking place. The conference will include workshops on physical and psychological long-term side effects of cancer treatment. The conference finishes with free lunch and entertainment for all cancer survivors and their caregivers in celebration of National Cancer Survivor Day.
