By Bokie Muigai

Pictured: Julia Stal is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Doctor of Philosophy in Preventive Medicine (Health Behavior Research) program. Photo courtesy Julia Stal.

For cancer survivors, the quality and availability of survivorship services is crucial to addressing their health needs following treatment. Researchers from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences of Keck School of Medicine, Kimberly A. Miller, PhD, MPH, David R. Freyer, DO, MS, and PhD candidate Julia Stal, are conducting a study to describe services currently available to people with adult-onset cancer across the country.

The research team is collaborating with the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (ACS CoC), a renowned consortium of professional organizations dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for patients with cancer. This premier national accrediting body treats 86% of patients with cancer in the U.S., at over 1,500 ACS CoC-accredited institutions. “By characterizing the services available across the country through this organization, we can better understand the landscape of survivorship care to identify what’s working and where there are gaps,” explains Miller.

Stal, who has broad cancer survivorship training, has been central in facilitating this project. She is a fifth-year PhD candidate in the Doctor of Philosophy in Preventive Medicine (Health Behavior Research) program at the Keck School of Medicine at USC. “Julia is incredibly passionate about improving outcomes for cancer survivors,” affirms Miller, her primary mentor. “She has developed and launched a study under our mentorship, and the ACS CoC has appointed her as a Research Scholar. Through this designation, she is the only one at USC who has the ability to work with these proprietary data,” acknowledges Miller. (…Read More)