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Cancer & Cancer Research Basics

PIVOT's cancer care resources are a toolkit for improving understanding and communication between patients, advocates and medical professionals who want to better understand cancer research.

PIVOT logoPatients, families, and caregivers partnering with researchers from 
The University of Kansas Cancer Center 
to re‐define cancer research.

The Cancer Information & Support Network (CISN) provides web-based training for patients, advocates, and medical professionals who want to better understand cancer research.

  • Cancer 101: What is cancer?
  • What do we know about cancer?
  • How is cancer studied?
  • How are drugs developed?
  • New horizons in cancer treatments
  • What is personalized medicine?

Introduction to Cancer Biology video (12 minutes)
An animated video teaching the basics of how cancer forms and spreads.

Clinical Trials: What Are Clinical Trials? video (10 minutes)

Introduction to Cancer Research

  • Understanding the publication and format of cancer research studies
  • Understanding cancer research study design and how to evaluate results
  • Drug discovery and development
  • Drug approval and labeling
  • Evaluating cancer information on the internet
  • The patient advocate's role in cancer research

Introduction to Clinical Trials

  • What are clinical trials and why we have them
  • Phases of clinical trials
  • Placebo in cancer clinical trials
  • Finding a clinical trial
  • Patient safety in clinical trials
  • Health insurance coverage of clinical trials
  • Questions to ask about clinical trials
  • What is the TAPUR study?

Want to Learn More About Cancer Research?
Click here for more resources on understanding and interpreting the science behind cancer research