TTUHSC’s Rahman Awarded CPRIT Grant Funding Expansion
The Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) recently awarded a $2,430,998 grant to Rakhshanda Rahman, M.D., professor of breast surgical oncology at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine and the founding executive director of the school’s multi-campus Breast Center of Excellence (BCE) that was established in 2009.
The grant, titled, “Access to Breast and Cervical Care for West Texas (ABC24WT),”
is an expansion of a CPRIT grant Rahman was initially awarded in 2010. That grant
led to the establishment of BCE’s Access to Breast Care for West Texas (ABC4WT) program,
which was expanded in 2014 to include cervical screening services and became the Access
to Breast and Cervical Care for West Texas (ABC²4WT) program. Rahman, who is project
director for both programs, said the latest award will allow BCE to offer no-cost
mammograms and Pap smears to women who do not have health insurance in large geographical
areas of West Texas.
“This enables us to detect cancers at a very early stage so that they are curable,”
Rahman said. “This expansion will allow us to reach 60 counties in the Texas Panhandle,
South Plains and central West Texas.”
As the first breast center in West Texas to be accredited by the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers, BCE launched the ABC4WT program to provide underserved populations in the Texas Panhandle with access to mammogram screenings and related health information. As more needs within the region were identified, the program in 2014 morphed into ABC²4WT and is now able to provide cervical cancer screenings, HPV vaccinations and Pap tests to women across West Texas.
Due to the program’s success, BCE received additional CPRIT funding to develop ABC4WT
dissemination products in 2016 that would be available to other institutions and organizations
interested in developing education, outreach and service programs modeled after ABC4WT.
Since 2010, BCE has educated more than 26,800 women, provided more than 9,500 breast and cervical screening and diagnostic services and detected 123 precursors and cancers. When added up, Rahman said the CPRIT grants have allowed BCE to provide more than $5 million worth of breast and cervical cancer care to the area’s underserved population.
“The need within this population is great because about 47 percent do not have health
insurance,” Rahman said. “Ethnic minorities that make up a large proportion in this
region have access issues that will be overcome by this grant.”
Rahman also is medical director of the UMC Southwest Cancer Center Breast Center of
Excellence. By combining the expertise of Texas Tech Physicians with the staff and
resources of the Southwest Cancer Center, patients and families gain access to the
best care, close to home.
Related Stories
Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Rural Adolescents
Leigh Ann Reel, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A, discussed the causes and prevention strategies for noise-induced hearing loss, particularly for adolescents in rural areas.
Willed Body Memorial Service Honors Those Who Donated
On Memorial Day each May, a service is conducted at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Institute of Anatomical Sciences to pay respect to the Willed Body Program donors and their families.
Molecular Pathology Preceptorship: Unmatched Value and Experience
Ericka Hendrix, PhD, MB(ASCP)CM, Program Director and Associate Professor in the Master of Science in Molecular Pathology program in the School of Health Professions spoke about the program’s preceptorship.
Recent Stories
Logsdon Receives Grant to Study Vascular Side of Traumatic Brain Injuries
Supported by a three-year, $578,211 grant from the National Institutes of Health-National Institute on Aging, Aric F. Logsdon, Ph.D., will study how brain endothelial cells, or blood vessels within the brain, handle the stressors of neuroinflammation.
Historic collaboration brings shipping container-based health care clinic to Jeff Davis County
Texas A&M Health and TTUHSC joined with the student-led organization, Texas A&M BUILD—along with local leadership and other collaborators—to unveil a new, innovative medical care facility for a Trans-Pecos region rural community: a 40-foot, retro-fitted shipping container.
Improving Health Care Access, Education Through Research
The service area for TTUHSC, a recognized leader in academic health and biomedical research training, encompasses 121 Texas counties.