While the difficulties of the University of Hawaii Cancer Center have been much in the news, I want to be sure that its value to the people of Hawaii is not lost.

As a faculty member at the center for the past 10 years, you may guess that I am passionate about its mission and about my excellent colleagues, but why do I think the center is worth investment?

Every year more than 6,000 of us in Hawaii are diagnosed with malignant cancers and over 2,000 of us will die from them. This cost is too dear.

The job of the Cancer Center is to coordinate the fight against cancer in the islands and help save these 2,000 lives every year. We are the only ones doing this job. It is not a luxury; it is a necessity.

By maintaining our excellent faculty and developing our consortium with the local hospitals, we can ensure:

» That we know the behaviors that expose the people in Hawaii to cancer risk.

» That we educate the people of Hawaii about lifestyle changes that help prevent cancer.

» That we dedicate our special talents and natural resources to developing new drugs and therapies to cure cancer.

» That we bring cutting-edge cures and therapies to the islands in the form of clinical trials.

What are our successes?

Our researchers are in our communities and schools learning about behaviors that put people at risk of getting cancer. They monitor betel nut, alcohol and tobacco use and how it is sold to teens. For example, they recently found a dramatic increase in e-cig use among teens.

One fundamental contribution of the center was the creation of the Multiethnic Cohort. This is a group of people in Hawaii of various ethnicities that the center has followed for more than 20 years, tracking the foods they eat and other lifestyle choices and whether they develop health problems like cancer. This has become one of the most important such resources and is used by researchers around the world. It has led to a number of insights in how genetics and nutrition interact to determine cancer risk.

Hawaii is home to many indigenous organisms. These may make natural chemicals found only here. Our chemists and biologists screen these special compounds for the ability to kill cancer. Many drug leads are in development and one previously went into clinical trials. Our biologists have also produced breakthroughs in understanding how cancer forms and spreads, such as the identification of mutations that cause a new cancer syndrome. The basic research we do helps devise new drugs and new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to the benefit of not just Hawaii but also the world.

The Cancer Center is the core of the Cancer Consortium and coordinates with the hospitals to provide the infrastructure for cancer clinical trials and research.

The oncologists and surgeons in our clinical program work in the local consortium hospitals and are bringing new clinical trials to the islands and developing new therapies with our researchers. This is crucial for the health of the people of our islands.

The next nearest cancer center is more than 2,000 miles away, so truly no one else comes close to doing the job we are doing here. Indeed, no one else can do what the UH Cancer Center does. We are making a difference every year in the lives of our families and friends in Hawaii by coordinating the fight against cancer in the islands. We will continue to repay Hawaii’s investment many times over by helping to create a Hawaii where the battle against cancer is won.