December 10, 2024

Trio of Hope Foundation Programs Helps SWOG Researcher Advance Work to Expand Trial Access for Rural Patients

Izumi Okado, PhD is a researcher at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center who has leveraged multiple Hope Foundation programs to develop her work focused on improving rural cancer care delivery, implementing multilevel interventions to improve access to cancer clinical trials, and exploring ways to reduce cancer health disparities and improve the quality of life for cancer survivors.  

A 2021 SWOG Early Exploration & Development (SEED) Fund Award supported her collaboration with Dr. Randall Holcombe on the project, “Patient-centered video education intervention to improve rural cancer care delivery.” That same year, she was accepted into our 6-week virtual grant writing workshop to enhance her preparation for an NIH K01 grant submission – which was successfully funded!

This year, Dr. Okado was selected as a participant in our flagship training program, the Early Stage Investigator Training Course (ESITC). This 3-day intensive workshop brings a small cohort to Seattle to learn study design and implementation through SWOG’s network, and helps to develop their individual research concepts.  

Dr. Okado’s project will test whether a multilevel intervention – CTNow-Telehealth Support – which combines clinical trials telehealth navigation and patient clinical trials education supported by a regional clinical trials hub can enhance trial access and facilitate referrals for rural patients with cancer. 

About her time in Seattle Dr. Okado said,

“The ESITC was an invaluable experience – I learned so much about SWOG, clinical trial design and process, statistics, and concept/protocol development. This course has also provided me with opportunities to meet SWOG mentors, leaders, staff, and new friends in-person, and I deeply appreciate their feedback and guidance on developing my study concept. I am very excited to work with SWOG to develop my concept, with the goal to improve access to clinical trials for rural patients with cancer.”

Amplify the Impact

The Hope Foundation’s board of directors raised more than $10,000 toward our $25,000 Rising Innovator Goal to sustain member training and career development. Other generous SWOG members have stepped forward, and we've now raised $20,690 toward the goal.

Our board challenges you to join them by giving today. Gifts count toward this goal when you give an additional or larger annual gift, or donate to Hope for the first time.

Can you give to support the work of our incredible members like Dr. Okado? Together we fuel investigators and clinical trials, improving cancer care for patients everywhere.

Smart Giving Through Your Donor-Advised Fund

A Donor-Advised Fund is a giving account established at a public charity or charitable sponsor. Charitable sponsors include single-issue organizations (e.g., Environmental Defense Fund), community foundations (e.g., San Antonio Area Foundation), and national DAFs, which are charitable funds associated with an investment firm (e.g., Charles Schwab).  

When you make a charitable gift to your DAF, you receive an immediate tax deduction. Then, you can recommend donations from your DAF to your favorite charitable organization. When you donate cash or appreciated assets, these positions are sold and diversified even more, and you will not owe any taxes on the sale because the monies are already in a charitable fund. 

When you give to The Hope Foundation through your DAF, you enable other donors at your sponsor to discover and support us, too. Often, nonprofits cannot directly register at a charitable sponsor. Rather, at least one donor must recommend a grant to that nonprofit before it is added to the sponsor’s database and visible to other DAF holders.  

Please contact Mallory Glenn, Development Associate, at mallory@thehopefoundation.org or (734) 546-8434 if you have any questions about giving to Hope from your DAF.  

P.S. Many people choose to give from their assets – stocks, gifts from their IRA, and grants from their Donor-Advised Funds – to see even larger tax savings.