UH Cancer Center expands cancer care statewide with $2.5M Helmsley grant
The University of Hawaiʻi Cancer Center has won a $2.5 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to expand cancer care, clinical research and specialist training statewide.
The money goes to Ka ʻUmeke Lama, an initiative launched in 2024 with the John A. Burns School of Medicine to reduce geographic barriers to treatment, especially for neighbor island and rural residents. It follows an earlier $1.2 million Helmsley grant that helped launch the Hoʻōla Early Phase Clinical Research Center.
The program will set up Hawaiʻi's first medical oncology fellowship, so doctors can train as specialists without leaving the state, and will expand the Cancer Care Access Program for navigation, referrals and clinical trials.
A UH Cancer Center study found Hawaiʻi residents spent at least $230 million on out-of-state cancer care from 2021 to 2023.
Key points
- $2.5M grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust
- Creates Hawaiʻi's first medical oncology fellowship
Summary written by Readthrough from the original article. The full story, with photos and any updates, is at University of Hawaii News.
