Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation

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“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.”
― Rabindranath Tagore

There are countless obstacles standing between patients, researchers, and the cures they desperately hope to find. Few of those roadblocks are more obstructive than the lack of funding available to power the most promising research ideas. Together with her patients Frank and Brian, surgical oncologist and Conquer Cancer grant recipient, Dr. Chi Viet, is determined to accelerate cancer breakthroughs and give hope to future patients.

Research Impact

For Frank and his wife Monica, sharing the story of his cancer journey isn’t easy. But, she says, together they decided that helping others through research, education, and raising awareness can give their experience purpose and meaning.

Frank's Story

Before his own experience, Frank thought there was no coming back from a stage four cancer diagnosis. Now, as he recovers from his own treatment journey, he’s grateful for the research that not only changed his life but restored it.

Brian's Story

Now living cancer-free but still recovering from his experience, Brian never imagined cancer would come to his home. Today, one of the most important parts of his journey is finding opportunities to help others conquer cancer themselves.

Q&A: Meet Chi Viet, DDS, MD, PhD, FACS

Dr. Chi Viet planned to be a dentist. Her parents were dentists. She married a dentist who she met while in dental school. She graduated from dentistry school. But as she progressed through her training, she encountered patients with oral cancers who suffered poor outcomes. Those encounters changed the trajectory of her career, launching her down a path from dentistry to surgical oncology.

Today, as a Conquer Cancer grant recipient and cancer surgeon based at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California, Dr. Viet focuses her research and practice on improving outcomes for patients with oral, head, and neck cancers.

What was it about your early training experiences that inspired you to pursue surgical oncology as a career?

As I started interacting with these patients with oral cancer, I realized they had very poor survival. More than half of them would not make it to five years. Whenever I see a patient with late-stage cancer succumb to their disease, it’s very difficult for me as their surgeon. At the same time, it tells me that as a scientific community, we need to do better for these patients. I don’t think cancer treatment is about miracles; it’s through purposeful research that allows us to make contributions and take small steps towards improving survival and quality of life for our patients.

What role do you feel patient partnership plays in the success of your research and your patients’ outcomes?

My research is rooted in my clinical observations and therefore remains highly translational. My Conquer Cancer-funded project is a clinical study that enrolls the patients I treat in my practice. I collect their cancer samples and evaluate their symptoms and outcomes through clinical measures and questionnaires. In my research, I'm trying to improve our ability to predict disease outcomes in patients so that we can better tailor their treatment. This knowledge can enable doctors to escalate treatment in patients at higher risk for cancer spread and de-escalate treatment in patients with lower risks.

What is the impact of donor-funded research for patients with oral cancers?

Patients with oral cancer have a much more difficult treatment pathway because of the reduced funding and reduced public interest, and because it’s a rare cancer. As a result, we don’t have as many advances in treatment as we see with other, more common and well-funded cancers. It’s very difficult to get research funding, especially as an early career surgical oncologist. That’s why having foundations like Conquer Cancer – that are willing to fund surgeons in the early stages of their career – is vital in helping to advance new treatments and cures. Funding from Conquer Cancer helped to jumpstart my research and opened doors much more quickly than would've otherwise been possible.

Can you talk about the role that patients themselves play in advancing cancer research and treatment?

I think what we’re trying to do with research, with enrolling patients into clinical studies and clinical trials, is to instill in them a sense of hope. Not only for themselves, but also for patients in the future. And even when they know their enrollment into that study or trial might not directly benefit them, at the end of the day, it is giving future patients hope for a better chance of finding cures. I think with anything we do in life, at the end of the day, it’s the human connection that matters. I started in oral cancer research because of patient interactions; I continue to be driven because of my patients.

Conquer Cancer, the ASCO Foundation
2318 Mill Rd., Suite 800
Alexandria, VA, 22314

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