

Michelle Manning
MPH
Research Support and Statewide Engagement Program Coordinator;
Deputy Director of Administration, Comprehensive Cancer Support Program;
Research Support and Statewide Engagement Staff
The Comprehensive Cancer Support Program (CCSP) supports a statewide network to disseminate public health and clinical research projects to counties across North Carolina.
By using this dissemination approach to partner with health care providers across the state, we directly provide cancer survivors with evidence-based interventions in their home communities and create the capacity to deliver additional cancer-related programs in the future.
The CCSP research portfolio includes a broad range of studies:
CCSP faculty have also been asked to serve as co-investigators on several federal grants submitted this year by investigators at universities across the country.
Financial toxicity, a term used to describe the high cost and cost-related emotional/psychosocial burden that cancer care places on patients and their families, is a major and underappreciated problem affecting at least 30% of all cancer patients.
The purpose of this study (1R01CA240092-01; 3P30CA016086-44S4) is to enroll patients with cancer who have financial distress, connect them with a financial navigator and provide support to ease that financial burden. We will then evaluate this program to see if it lowers financial distress, improves quality of life, and whether participants liked the program.
The financial burden of cancer has been linked to:
(*) denotes counties that have a rural organization participating in this Financial Navigation Program.
(+) denotes counties that have a non-rural organization participating in this Financial Navigation Program.
Rural Community Partners
Non-Rural Community Partners
For more information about this study, contact Michelle Manning, MPH, at mmanning@unc.edu or Mindy Gellin at mindy_gellin@med.unc.edu
This research study is a companion to the LIFT study. Specifically, this research (3R01CA240092-03W1) examines the relationships between financial toxicity, quality of life, insurance coverage, workforce participation, and patterns of healthcare use among a cohort of rural N.C. cancer survivors.
The study applies a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to understand and evaluate health care help-seeking behaviors in the nested contexts of health care policies, health care systems, and socio-ecological factors navigated by rural cancer survivors.
For more information about this study, contact Arrianna Planey, PhD, at amplaney@email.unc.edu
In addition to research, the cost of cancer care is a current program focus as well.
Our Patient Assistance Fund has received program grants from the American Cancer Society to assist patients with lodging support during treatment and with transportation costs if they meet the program’s eligibility criteria.
The transportation grant is for the N.C. Basnight Cancer Hospital, as well as eight other organizations across the state including our Hillsborough location (Orange County), UNC Lenoir (Lenoir County), UNC Health Southeastern (Roberson County), Nash UNC Health Care (Edgecombe/Nash Counties), UNC Johnston (Johnston County), UNC Rex Health Care (Wake County), UNC McCreary (Caldwell County) and UNC Rockingham (Rockingham County).
For more information about this program, contact Cindy Rogers, JD, at cdrogers@email.unc.edu
Listed here is a brief summary of the team’s other collaborations over the last decade.
Addressing Cancer-Related Financial Toxicity In Rural and Non-Rural Oncology Care Settings NCI R01 & P30 Administrative Supplement
We were fortunate to be awarded two National Cancer Institute grants to study financial toxicity in both rural and non-rural areas of North Carolina:
The goal of both of these studies is to evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of a financial navigation intervention for 700 cancer patients within five rural and four non-rural North Carolina oncology settings.
Together, these two studies form LIFT: Lessening the Impact of Financial Toxicity. Additional information can be found at cancercosts.org.
N.C. Healthcare Center for Innovation: Improving Financial Navigation Services in the North Carolina Hospital – a Model for the UNC Health Care System
In March 2018, Stephanie Wheeler, PhD, MPH, and Donald Rosenstein, MD, were awarded a UNC Healthcare Innovation Grant to deploy a financial navigation (FN) intervention within the N.C. Cancer Hospital designed to decrease financial toxicity among N.C. Cancer Hospital patients.
Financial navigators underwent several weeks of intensive orientation and training on financial issues relevant to cancer patients. Trained financial navigators then provided one-on-one financial distress screening and on-site consultation with patients to determine their eligibility for various financial aid resources and assist with application completion and submission.
Financial navigators kept detailed records on patient progress and outcomes. Financial navigator materials from this project, including training manuals, referral processes, and forms served as the building blocks for the current LIFT study.
Susan G. Komen Lymphedema Project
In 2014-2015, the CCSP research support and statewide engagement team conducted a program funded by the Susan G. Komen Triangle to the Coast Affiliate to increase breast cancer patient access to lymphedema (LE) care and education, in 15 N.C. counties, developed a comprehensive Lymphedema Self-Care Workbook and a companion DVD, and provided professional education and networking for lymphedema therapists across N.C.
North Carolina Cancer Survivorship Professionals Action Network (NC-CSPAN)
In 2014, our team developed NC-CSPAN to facilitate cancer survivorship programs across North Carolina, through a grant from The Duke Endowment.
This statewide network still exists today and consists of health professionals (nurses, health educators, social workers and other cancer support professionals) employed and endorsed by their local cancer organizations, including nine providers in rural areas.
The providers were trained to deliver Cancer Transitions: Moving Beyond Treatment® to N.C. cancer survivors and caregivers in their community.
Network events include attending an annual continuing education conference focused on various cancer survivorship topics such as diet, exercise, and financial toxicity, as well as, time to network with oncology professionals across N.C.
In 2015, our community partners across the state voted for addressing financial toxicity as our next statewide research topic. Since then, the CCSP Research Support & Statewide Engagement Team has focused heavily on addressing and developing novel approaches to lessen financial toxicity in rural and urban areas of our state.
Learn more about the Finding Wellness After Cancer program (formerly Cancer Transitions)
The Cultural Adaptation of Cancer Transitions for Spanish Speaking Patients
The Research Support and Statewide Engagement team led a collaborative project between UNC, LIVESTRONG, and the Cancer Support Community (CSC) to culturally adapt the Cancer Transitions® program for the Latino cancer survivor population.
Focus groups were held with Latino cancer survivors in NC, TX, FL, and NY to determine areas for adaptation and develop the adapted program curriculum and companion facilitator guide. This project dovetailed with the above mentioned Duke Endowment grant so we were able to offer Cancer Transitions® across North Carolina to Spanish-speaking Latino cancer survivors.This new program, ¿Ahora qué? la vida después del tratamiento de cáncer, includes a facilitator guide and patient workbook, and is now available through the Cancer Support Community to support Latino/a cancer survivors and caregivers across the country.
If interested in internship opportunities with the Statewide Engagement team, please send your resume and cover letter to mmanning@unc.edu
MPH
Research Support and Statewide Engagement Program Coordinator;
Deputy Director of Administration, Comprehensive Cancer Support Program;
Research Support and Statewide Engagement Staff
RN, BSN
Statewide Engagement & Research Support Program Coordinator; Education & Outreach Coordinator
Comprehensive Cancer Support Program
For more information about the CCSP Statewide Engagement team, please contact:
Michelle Manning
Email: mmanning@unc.edu
Phone: (919) 843-8506