Transcription of Caroline Knight for the show Art & The American Cancer Society, #94
Lisa: Today in the studio I have with me Caroline Knight who is a research coordinator or the research coordinator I should say for the Pen Bay Medical Center Research Department just off the coast from us here in Maine. She’s going to talk to us about something that I suspect many people don’t even realize is going on which is medical research and cancer research in particular in the State of Maine so thanks for coming in.
Caroline: Thank you.
Lisa: Caroline this is something that I have some background and I actually did cancer research when I was a medical student and early on in my medical training and so I know that it was going on in Maine because I was doing it back it was awhile ago but it is something that most people don’t really quite realize. We think well how could we have something like medical research which takes resources, it takes people, it takes academicians? How could we have that in the State of Maine?
Caroline: Well fortunately with cancer research it’s all coordinated mostly through the National Cancer Institute and there are major coordinating centers that do a lot of that work and then they find centers around the country to do the actual patient care. You can be a small institution and link in to the work being done at that National Cancer Institute.
Lisa: This is in fact is what has recently happened with Pen Bay.
Caroline: Yes we have become an affiliate of Eastern Maine Medical Center which is a member of the large cooperative groups under the National Cancer Institute.
Lisa: What type of cancer research is being done at Pen Bay?
Caroline: Right now we’ve opened four studies just recently three of them in breast cancer and one in colon cancer and we plan to open several others soon.
Lisa: Why is it important to do cancer research in smaller communities and smaller states like Maine?
Caroline: So that the local people have access to the cutting edge medicine that’s being done and so that the research is being done on people from all over the world, all over the country. People genetically who’ve been in Maine several generations are different genetically than those who’ve been in say Alabama for several generations.
Lisa: Are there benefits to actually doing this research in Maine that we might not have say if we were in Boston or a larger urban center? Does it enable you to connect with people because you know who the patients are in the community?
Caroline: Yes we have such a small institution that we know everyone and there’s only one oncologist so we are able to know every patient. We don’t have to go out and recruit and talk to other physicians and try and get them to send us patients because if there are cancer patients being seen in the mid coast area in Pen Bay Hospital they are being seen by our oncologist.
Lisa: Before Pen Bay starting doing cancer research Pen Bay was doing other types of research.
Caroline: Yes. Pen Bay has been involved in various research studies a few in the 1980’s, 1990’s, the early 2000’s several in neurology department or also a pulmonary study or two and asthma. Then when I came to work here, I have been doing research for 20 years and when I came to work at Pen Bay I thought I’d never be able to do research again and found a niche in the anti coagulation clinic and brought in research studies that I had been doing in my previous job in Colorado. From that we’ve grown a department. Now there are two full time study coordinators myself and another one.
Lisa: If I’m a patient or a doctor and I have a disease like breast cancer, how do I know if there is a cancer study being done in my area?
Caroline: The National Cancer Institute has a website with listings where you can put in say your zip code and it will help you find a center or ask your physician. They are generally in tune to such things.
Lisa: A local physician up in the mid coast area will know that there are research studies being done at Pen Bay and can connect with patients that way.
Caroline: They should. We have just started and so we’re getting the word out but they are also usually aware of studies being done say in Portland or at the Alfond center in Augusta or in Brewer.
Lisa: You’re not originally from Maine? No? You’re from elsewhere.
Caroline: Yes.
Lisa: From away yes and that’s okay we like people from away. Why did you move to Maine?
Caroline: For the lifestyle. I decided it was time for a change and I missed the ocean, liked the slower pace and liked the idea of being able to get to know my neighbors. I love working at the small hospital and getting to know so many of the people I work with.
Lisa: You live in Rockland now?
Caroline: Yes.
Lisa: How have you found … Well you came from Colorado originally so the winters how do they compare?
Caroline: The can be pretty depressing here compared to Colorado where it’s snowy but sunny. Here it gets grey sometimes and I can certainly see the allure of going south for a vacation in the winter.
Lisa: We’re happy that it’s summer now.
Caroline: Yes. This is why we live here.
Lisa: This is why we live here.
Caroline: This time of the year.
Lisa: Maine in summer. How can people find out about the research that you’re doing at Pen Bay Medical Center?
Caroline: They can visit our website penbayhealthcare.org. There’s information there or they can call the research center which is 207-596-8959.
Lisa: Well I’m thrilled to know that there is great work being done in medical research at Pen Bay and I know at other places around the state and it’s nice to know that we have very smart people who are coming in and trying to figure out how to treat some of these diseases like cancer and multiple sclerosis and some of the other things that we talked about so thank you for coming in and talking to me today. We’ve been speaking with Caroline Knight who’s the research coordinator at the Pen Bay Medical Center Research Department off the coast.
Caroline: Thank you.