US Veterans are at a heightened risk for lung cancer due to service-related exposures. Integrating clinical research into routine oncology care at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can help bring clinical trials closer to where Veterans live and improve access to cutting edge therapies. In this episode, CANCER BUZZ speaks with Millie Das, MD, chief of oncology at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, about the collaborations and institutional support that allowed them to launch lung cancer clinical trials and the role industry has played.

"My primary motivation was just to allow veterans access to trials in the same way that I saw my patients at Stanford have access to clinical trials." - Millie Das, MD

"One of the biggest myths is that you can't work with pharma within the VA and I think just trying to break down some of these old myths was a challenge." - Millie Das, MD

Guest:

Millie Das, MD

Chief, Oncology

VA Palo Alto Health Care System

Clinical Professor

Stanford University

Stanford, CA

Additional Reading/Resources

· Veterans Care Resource Library

· Improving Cancer Care for Native American Veterans: A Model of Interagency Collaboration