"This is the best of both worlds for patients," says Lyn Glenn (pictured), a Providence Cancer Center nurse practitioner and program manager. "With a world-class cancer research center located within a community hospital, we are able to offer the kinds of advanced therapies available only in the top research institutions, combined with that personal, compassionate, individualized care that is the hallmark of Providence."
Lyn manages two programs for Providence Cancer Center: the Autologous Stem Cell Transplant and the Biotherapy Programs. Both programs are making a difference in the lives of cancer patients who otherwise might have had no hope of fighting their disease. Autologous stem cell transplant involves removing stem cells from a patient's blood and returning the cells to the patient following high-dose chemotherapy. Reinfused stem cells protect patients from severe bone marrow damage that results from the very high doses of chemotherapy and irradiation required to treat some cancers. The Biotherapy Program, which features treatment with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2), is unique in Oregon. IL-2 works by enhancing or stimulating the patient's immune system to fight cancer.
Lyn's hope is that the Robert W. Franz Cancer Research Center's immunotherapy research will lead to even more successes for cancer patients, beyond today's benefits from autologous stem cell transplantation and high-dose IL-2. "Our patients who participate in clinical trials tell us again and again, ‘If it doesn't help me, I hope it will help someone else in the future.' Their contribution to and belief in our work truly inspires me."