Podcast: Runners and walkers step out to support sarcoma research at Ohio State скачать в хорошем качестве

Podcast: Runners and walkers step out to support sarcoma research at Ohio State

Ohioans are preparing for another magnificent march to support sarcoma research at Ohio State. Entering its 12th year, the annual Steps for Sarcoma event has raised more than $1.2 million and funded several research programs that have improved outcomes and quality of life for sarcoma patients at The James and beyond. The event has also created a community for patients and caregivers to connect with one another, as well as the doctors, nurses and other James providers who work with sarcoma patients every day. “It’s so fantastic for us, as caregivers, to see them walking and doing the things they want to do because of the care we’ve given them,” says Joel Mayerson, MD, the director of The James’ sarcoma program. The event has become a big part of the lives of many Ohioans, including a survivor who participated after undergoing leg amputation surgery. “She was able to recover and ski and walk, and she sang the National Anthem for us at Steps for Sarcoma,” Mayerson says. “Everyone had a tear in their eye, and then she walked around most of the course with crutches.” The 12th Annual Steps for Sarcoma will be held September 26, 2021. Due to the pandemic, it will be a virtual event. One of the goals of the event is to fund young James researchers working on sarcoma-related studies. Steps for Sarcoma has funded a pilot program in conjunction with the Ohio State College of Veterinary Medicine in which an ultrasound machine is used, in real time, during a sarcoma operation to make sure that surgeons remove “clear margins” around tumors. “This allows us to take less tissue, and that leaves patients more functional,” Mayerson says. Other grants from Steps for Sarcoma have funded a data base of sarcoma patients used to determine the best course of treatment, as well as a study for patients with advanced sarcomas to understand the molecular characteristics of their tumors and the best targeted or immunotherapy treatments. “This is how we support our young researchers,” Mayerson says. “It can be hard to gain that first small amount of money to take your idea to the next step, and that’s what Steps for Sarcoma has allowed them to do.”