Cancer Group Aims to Give Patients Say on Research Agenda

The National Breast Cancer Coalition is spearheading an effort to bring advocates and cancer patients to the table when decisions are made about spending research dollars, reports NPR. The Artemis Project, launched by the coalition three years ago, marks a shift from cancer charities’ typical focus on raising money for research and leaving it to scientific institutions to set priorities.

With a cure remaining elusive, coalition President Fran Visco said the organization decided “that we were going to decide what questions need to be answered, and we were going to bring together the necessary scientific expertise, collaborating with advocates, to answer those questions.” Dr. H. Kim Lyerly, a professor of surgery at Duke University who is working with the project, said it could help different types of medical researchers coalesce around a common effort rather than pursuing myriad individual projects.