NCCN program on Discovery Health Channel profiles patients battling lung cancer

NCCN program on Discovery Health Channel profiles patients battling advanced non-small cell lung cancer and highlights their physicians' use of the NCCN Guidelines for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in determining the best treatment regimen. The program, which provides free CME credits, premieres on Sunday, October 18 at 7:00 am EDT.

Lung cancer is the second most common cancer and leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. Although tobacco use is the strongest known risk factor for lung cancer, many people who never smoked also develop the disease. Regardless of how one developed lung cancer, treating the disease in the advanced stage faces numerous challenges both for clinicians and patients as well as their families.

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, has collaborated with the Discovery Health Channel to produce a program profiling three patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer and their healthcare team as they determine each patient's best treatment regimen. The program, Living with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, premieres Sunday, October 18, 2009 on the Discovery Health Channel. This program is available for Continuing Medical Education (CME/CE) credits for physicians as well as nurses.

NCCN is known for developing the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology(TM), a leading clinical reference for health care providers around the globe. This program will include members of the NCCN Guidelines Panel for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer as they explore systemic treatments for patients with non-small cell lung cancer and focus on evolving data for the disease and the application in the current NCCN Guidelines. Featured faculty includes:

• David S. Ettinger, MD - The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins
• Steven J. Feigenberg, MD - Fox Chase Cancer Center

Note: Dr. Feigenberg was practicing at Fox Chase Cancer Center at the time the program was filming; he is currently at the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.

• Mark G. Kris, MD - Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Current air dates for Living with Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (all times are Eastern):

• Sunday, October 18 - 7:00 am (premiere)
• Saturday, October 24 - 7:00 am
• Sunday, October 25 - 7:00 am
• Saturday, October 31 - 7:00 am
• Sunday, November 1 - 6:00 am
• Saturday, November 7 - 7:00 am
• Sunday, December 13 - 6:00 am

For additional information about the program and available CME/CE credits, visit NCCN.org or Discovery Health.

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), a not-for-profit alliance of 21 of the world's leading cancer centers, is dedicated to improving the quality and effectiveness of care provided to patients with cancer. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers. The primary goal of all NCCN initiatives is to improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of oncology practice so patients can live better lives.

The NCCN Member Institutions are: City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Los Angeles, CA; Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center | Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA; Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center, Durham, NC; Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA; Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center/Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, WA; The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL; Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY; H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL; The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH; Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY; Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO; St. Jude Children's Research Hospital/University of Tennessee Cancer Institute, Memphis, TN; Stanford Comprehensive Cancer Center, Stanford, CA; University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center, Birmingham, AL; UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA; University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor, MI; UNMC Eppley Cancer Center at The Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE; The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Nashville, TN.

For more information, visit NCCN.org.

SOURCE National Comprehensive Cancer Network