Welcome to the Cancer Cachexia Society’s patient and caregiver advocacy page. Our mission is to empower patients with cachexia to live their lives to the fullest through awareness, education, and community. On the Patient Materials page, you will find resources to help you on your journey through cancer and cachexia. Please join our community through our Facebook Page where patients and caregivers share their stories, ask questions, and support each other.
Advocacy Committee Members
Martin Kochanczyk, PhD
Committee Co-chair
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Navigating cancer treatment can be confusing enough. Most patients have never even heard of cachexia, and often it is swept away in the details of understanding the myriad other treatments and decisions patients are faced with. However, for many cancer patients, a deeper understanding of the effects of cachexia can truly make a difference in their quality of life. As my father navigated pancreatic cancer, my family struggled with all of these issues, and this is why it is so important to me to ensure that other patients and their families have the opportunity to learn about cachexia. Here, we hope to create resources that can help cancer patients with cachexia on their journey.
Teresa A. Zimmers, PhD
Committee Co-chair
Past president of the Cancer Cachexia Society
Committee Chair Teresa Zimmers, PhD is Professor of Cell, Developmental and Cancer Biology at Oregon Health and Science University and Research Scientist at the Portland Veterans Administration Medical Center. She co-leads the Cancer Biology Program of the Knight Cancer Institute, the Patient Resiliency Program of the Brenden Colson Center for Pancreatic Care and leads the Oregon Cachexia Working Group. Her research centers on the systemic effects of cancer, particularly secreted protein mediators.
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