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Sam Donaldson Named Inaugural Chair of NCCN Foundation Board

William T. McGivney, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of NCCN noted, "We are thrilled that Mr. Donaldson has accepted the position as chair of the NCCN Foundation Board of Directors. I am confident that he will provide wise and practical leadership as we look to implement programs that will benefit patients with cancer as well as researchers."

The NCCN Foundation was recently established as the philanthropic affiliate of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN^®) to embrace the NCCN mission of improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer, while providing additional information and resources for informed decision-making.

"As a champion of the NCCN and of the amazing work they do, I am honored to serve on the NCCN Foundation Board of Directors and look forward to lending my voice to contribute to its many significant accomplishments," said Sam Donaldson.

One of the primary initiatives of the NCCN Foundation will be to gain support for the development of the NCCN Patient Guidelines. The NCCN Patient Guidelines are translations of the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines ) into a patient-friendly resource outlining appropriate treatment.

"As one of the 12 million cancer survivors in the United States today, I can personally attest to the need for credible information that patients can use to help them navigate the overwhelming and emotional task of deciding on treatment," noted Mr. Donaldson.

The NCCN Foundation will also seek philanthropic support for effective distribution of the NCCN Patient Guidelines as well as the translation of these guidelines into multiple foreign languages. It will also be looking to attain funds to develop and distribute NCCN Cancer Medication Information Sheets (NCCN CMI ), a resource to assist patients with safety and compliance concerns related to complex medication regimens, as well as developing survivorship programs for the growing population of cancer survivors.

Since research is a critical component to the ongoing advancement of cancer treatments, an additional focus of the NCCN Foundation is to develop programs to encourage and assist "Young Investigators" as well as nurses in conducting innovative and collaborative research in clinical oncology at NCCN Member Institutions.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN^®), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

For more information, visit NCCN.org.

NCCN
Megan Martin, 215-690-0576
martin@nccn.org