The Jack Loacker Center for Cardio-Oncology
The Jack Loacker Center for Cardio-Oncology is a collaborative program of Providence Cancer Institute and Providence Heart Institute. Its goal is to help patients undergo lifesaving cancer care while keeping their hearts safe.
Thanks to improved diagnostic capability and therapies, the death rate for all cancers declined by 27% between 1999 and 2019. Overall, 10-year survival rates for the most common cancers has improved by 50 to 80%. As a result of this progress, in the next five years the United States will have 20 million cancer survivors.
As more people survive cancer, the potential for future cardiovascular events increases. For many, their heart disease has nothing to do with their cancer. But for a growing number of patients, their cancer treatments have caused, or may be contributing to, their heart disease
Some types of radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be cardiotoxic. It is increasingly apparent that newer, targeted therapies may also injure the heart. It is a challenge for the treating physician to minimize risks, many of which are unavoidable, while maximizing each patient’s chances of survival from their cancer.
Led by Michael Layoun, M.D., the Jack Loacker Center for Cardio-Oncology will work to prevent and treat adverse cardiovascular effects of cancer therapies and advance research on how those adverse effects arise, who is most vulnerable to them and how they may be prevented or reduced.
Innovative Research
The research component of the Jack Loacker Center will focus on identifying and understanding genetic factors that may contribute to the cardiovascular impacts of current and emerging cancer therapies and attempt to determine why some patients are more susceptible to cardiac effects than others.
Research is also essential to advance much needed national standards for cardio-oncological care, especially how risk factors may be modified prior to treatment for cancer to prevent or reduce cardiovascular damage. The Jack Loacker Center has an extraordinary opportunity to undertake this work to improve care for patients around the world.
Born and raised in Portland, Dr. Layoun earned his Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and biophysics at Oregon State University and completed his medical training at Oregon Health & Science University.
After a three-year residency at University of California, Los Angeles, he returned to Portland to complete his cardiovascular medicine fellowship at OHSU, where he also served as chief fellow during his final year of training.
State-of-the-art Clinical Care
The clinical program will care for patients throughout their cancer journey, including patients with pre-existing cardiac issues, patients without cardiac issues but susceptible to known adverse effects of cancer treatment, patients who receive treatments for which the adverse effects are not well understood, and patients who may develop cardiovascular disease years after their cancer treatment.
Your gift can fund these essential elements of the clinical program:
- Dedicated time for medical director
- Nurse navigator
- Diagnostic equipment
- Continuing medical education for clinical staff
Double your gift
The three-year cost to fully launch the Jack Loacker Center for Cardio-Oncology is $3 million. A generous donor has seeded the program with a $1 million gift and will match up to $1 million of donations received by October 1, 2022, to reach the total $3 million goal. Please double your donation by making your gift today!
For more information on how you can help, please contact:
Shari Lynn Scales, CFRE
Regional Director of Development
Providence Cancer Institute
Shari.Scales@providence.org | 971-358-6452