Cancer Research Institute Launches TheAnswerToCancer.org, a Website for Cancer Patients and Caregivers Providing Information on Cancer Immunotherapy, Clinical Trials, and Stories of Cancer Patients Treated with Immunotherapy

NEW YORK, June 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Cancer Research Institute (CRI) is proud to announce the launch of a first-of-its-kind website devoted to cancer immunotherapy, also called immuno-oncology, designed specifically for cancer patients and their caregivers, TheAnswerToCancer.org.

"As major advances in cancer immunotherapy begin to alter the landscape of cancer treatment, patients facing a cancer diagnosis need to be aware of immunotherapy as a potential treatment option for them," said Jill O'Donnell-Tormey, Ph.D., CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. "Our new website, TheAnswerToCancer.org, informs patients about these new treatments, and encourages them to talk with their doctors about immunotherapy."

Through TheAnswerToCancer.org, CRI seeks to engage, educate, and empower patients and their loved ones to learn more about cancer immunotherapy as a treatment option across numerous tumor types. The site provides a robust but accessible overview of the science behind cancer immunotherapy, detailed information about cancer immunotherapy clinical trials, and voices from the cancer immunotherapy community.

Launched to coincide with the kickoff on June 1 of CRI's second annual Cancer Immunotherapy Month, the new site includes powerful video and written stories of patients, told in their own words, of their experiences with cancer immunotherapy and how, in some cases, they were not expecting to survive and thanks to these new treatments are now in remission. Like the story of Pam Griffith, diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer, whose cancer was unresponsive to conventional therapy. In 2013, she enrolled in a clinical trial of an immunotherapy called nivolumab (BMS-936558), and within a month, her tumors melted away. Or the story of Father Dennis Billy, who enrolled in an immunotherapy clinical trial after a second recurrence of his acute lymphocytic leukemia. Using a technology called CAR T cell therapy, Father Billy's doctors trained his own T cells (a key component of the immune system) to attack his cancer. Today, more than two years since treatment, he continues to be cancer free.

Building on the Cancer Research Institute's more than 60-year commitment to advancing the science and understanding of cancer immunotherapy, the launch of TheAnswerToCancer.org represents the beginning of a new phase in CRI's mission to conquer cancer through immunotherapy.

"Six decades of research are now bearing fruit, as immunotherapies for multiple cancers are beginning to provide real benefit to patients," O'Donnell-Tormey said. "Our organization, so long dedicated to furthering the science behind today's immunotherapies, is now also devoted to helping cancer patients navigate this new era in cancer treatment."

TheAnswerToCancer.org is supported through a charitable donation from Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.

About the Cancer Research Institute
The Cancer Research Institute (CRI), established in 1953, is the world's only nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. Guided by a world-renowned Scientific Advisory Council that includes three Nobel laureates and 26 members of the National Academy of Sciences, CRI has invested more than $263 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world's leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment. To learn more, go to www.cancerresearch.org.

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SOURCE Cancer Research Institute (CRI)