CANCER BUZZ

Social drivers of health such as geographic distance, travel burden, or limited availability at specialized patient centers bar many eligible patients from receiving first-line, potentially curative therapies, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Community cancer centers in particular often struggle to offer CAR T, due to the extensive resources required to safely maintain a CAR T program: emergency department access, intensive care unit resources, and inpatient admission availability. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with 2026 ACCC Innovator Award winner Andrew Dalovisio, MD, Director of the Myeloma, Lymphoma, and Cellular Therapy Program at Mary Bird Perkins, about how his team successfully launched the first fully outpatient CAR T-cell therapy program for select blood cancers in the Baton Rouge region. For other community cancer centers interested in developing a similar program, Dr. Dalovisio stressed the importance of identifying both a physician and administrative champion to navigate the process in a dyad partnership. "Less than one in five patients who meet indications [for CAR T-cell therapy] even get a referral. We can talk about how wonderful all these medicines we have are, but if they're not getting to the patients that need them, [they're] not serving [their] purpose." – Andrew Dalovisio, MD Guest: Andrew Dalovisio, MD   Director, Myeloma, Lymphoma, and Cellular Therapy Program  Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana Resources: ACCC 43rd National Oncology Conference 2026 ACCC Innovator Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center Designing a Safe, Fully Outpatient CAR T-Cell Program in the Community CAR T-Cell Therapy Insights from the Field Rising to the Occasion: The Impact of Outpatient CAR T-Cell Therapy at the Froedtert & Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network  

Where a person lives in the United States significantly influences both the quality of the cancer care they receive and their treatment outcomes. With a growing mortality gap between patients living in urban and rural areas and a distinct struggle for patients in rural communities to afford their care, implementing thoughtful, targeted outreach in rural areas has never been more important. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with 2026 ACCC Innovator Award winner Theresa W. Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN, Professor and Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement at Winship Cancer Institute, about her program's Embedded Community Staff model, which provides funding to community partners that hire local individuals who are deeply familiar with their communities, their needs, and their resources. "It's a beautiful partnership. The people in the communities have the knowledge and superb expertise of their own community, and then we can provide the funding and oversight." – Theresa W. Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN Guest: Theresa W. Gillespie, PhD, MA, FAAN Professor and Associate Director for Community Outreach and Engagement Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University Atlanta, Georgia Resources: ACCC 43rd National Oncology Conference 2026 ACCC Innovator Winship Cancer Institute Local Staff, Lasting Impact: A New Model for Rural Cancer Prevention Primary Care Meets Cancer Prevention: Insights From Sanford World Clinic – Ghana From Fatigue to Function: Redefining Rural Cancer Care Through Exercise Oncology Shared Solutions for Rural Oncology: Insights Across the Americas  

 On top of coping with the anxiety of a cancer diagnosis and the physical effects of treatment, patients with cancer face the dual challenge of accessing and affording care. Many patients delay seeking care due to the perceived high cost, and others experience burdensome medical debt as a result of their care. In many cancer programs, financial navigators focus on obtaining financial clearance and assistance for eligible patients. However, this approach can fail to address patient distress stemming from the cost of care, insurance-related delays, and redundant work for cancer program staff. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with 2026 ACCC Innovator Award winner Cathleen Hernandez-Vita, BSN, RN, ONN-CG, Associate Director of MDAnderson Navigation Services at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, about how her team worked to address these challenges. The program developed a novel Pre-Intake Navigation (PIN) program to identify and resolve early financial and insurance barriers, enabling patients to access timely, high-quality cancer care with less anxiety and fewer delays. Hernandez-Vita shares how PIN shifts financial navigation from a late-stage, reactive task to an early, standardized, patient-centered process embedded in the call center workflow. "As organizations embrace new technologies and out-of-the-box solutions, it's important not to lose sight of the human, caring touch. Successful innovation is often about finding the right balance between efficiency and empathy." – Cathleen Hernandez-Vita, BSN, RN, ONN-CG   Guest: Cathleen Hernandez-Vita, BSN, RN, ONN-CG  Associate Director, askMDAnderson Navigation Services The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Houston, Texas Resources: ACCC 43rd National Oncology Conference 2026 ACCC Innovator MD Anderson Cancer Center Transforming Access to Care Through Pre-Intake Navigation ACCC Financial Advocacy Network Financial Advocacy Network Resources Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Cancer Care Through Financial Navigation

Decentralized clinical Trials (DCTs) bring some or all elements of a clinical trial closer to patients. Consent, screening, treatment administration, and more can be administered through digital technologies and local health care providers, expanding accessibility for patients who face barriers to participation in traditional single site trials. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Erin Pierce, MSN, APRN, FNP-C, Associate Clinical Investigator and Nurse Practitioner at HonorHealth Research Institute, and Kristen Kipping-Johnsson, MPH, Director of Network Research Operations at the University of Chicago, about how each of their cancer programs are approaching DCT implementation. Their discussion explores how decentralized components, such as community-based treatment delivery, centralized research infrastructure, and hybrid trial designs, can increase participation opportunities for patients in both community and academic settings. Guests: Erin Pierce, MSN, APRN, FNP-C Associate Clinical Investigator Nurse Practitioner HonorHealth Research Institute Scottsdale, AZ   Kristen Kipping-Johnson, MPH Director of Network Research Operations University of Chicago Chicago, IL "APPs are really poised to step into that role [of investigator] and help, not take the place of physicians, but work alongside our physician colleagues and enable us to expand the abilities of research." —Erin Pierce, MSN, APRN, FNP-C "Quality of life, being able to keep patients treated closer to home, allow them to stay with the physician that diagnosed them...Those are the things that are really important to me when it comes to decentralization." —Kristen Kipping-Johnson, MPH Resources HonorHealth Research Institute's First Steps to Approaching Decentralized Clinical Trials (DCTs) University of Chicago's Path to Operationalizing Decentralized Phase 1 Trials Across a Regional Network ACCC's Community Oncology Research Institute White Paper: Bringing Cancer Research to the Community:  Strategic Approaches to Representative Oncology Clinical Trial Design This podcast was created in partnership with the Decentralized Trials & Research Alliance, with support from Eli Lilly and Company, Gilead Sciences, and Merck.

In this episode of Oncology Unscripted, hosts Mark Liu and Deirdre Saulet speak with Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD, a radiation oncologist and Associate Director of the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, about her decades-long passion for community outreach and engagement to bring curative cancer treatment to underserved populations. Dr. Winkfield discusses the heavy financial burden of cancer and the need for policymakers and institutions to truly care for and prioritize the health of the American people. She also emphasizes the importance of "asset mapping" for healthcare administrators to take stock of the resources at their disposal and going out into the community to speak directly with people about what needs are not being met. "Policy is important for thinking about how we move the needle forward in cancer care. But it's not just policy on the national level or at the state level; it's actually institutional policy as well. And that's where access to care becomes personal for providers...What are the things that we can do as oncologists or...healthcare administrators to really ensure that we're taking good care of the communities we say we're there for?" – Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD Guest: Karen Winkfield, MD, PhD Radiation Oncologist Associate Director Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center Nashville, Tennessee To submit a topic of discussion to the podcast, please email [email protected] and [email protected].   The 2026 Oncology Unscripted series is exclusively sponsored by Advarra. Resources A Call to Reimagine Community Engagement and Equity in Cancer Shared Solutions for Rural Oncology: Insights Across the Americas Spirituality and Cultural Humility: Core Components of Comprehensive Palliative Care 2026 ACCC Innovator Award Winner: Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center