LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Center is working with the National Cancer Institute to change the lives of patients and students studying biomedicine. 

What You Need To Know

  • Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman spoke with and learned from students in UK's ACTION program

  • The program provides eastern Kentucky students with educational experiences around cancer research

  • UK researchers have studied the effects of various cancers in the Appalachian region for over two decades

  • The ACTION program was formed with the National Cancer Institute and has supported students since 2016

UK students like Rachel Henderson have captured images of what they think cancer looks like in their hometowns, all of which are in eastern Kentucky.  

She and others have created “Cancer in Appalachia” a book of fictional tales that describe actual experiences of people dealing with cancer. It’s part of UK’s Markey Cancer Center’s Appalachian Career Training in Oncology program—ACTION.

ACTION gives high school and undergraduate students from eastern Kentucky an enhanced educational experience around cancer research. It is helping them connect with the tools to support their communities one day. 

“People who have had cancer, and they didn’t know what to do with it. They weren’t properly educated, or they didn’t have the money or the resources to travel all the way to Lexington.” Henderson explained. “And that is a big part of our county. And why I decided to go into this program and why I decided to do what I’m doing.”

From 1999 to 2020, UK researchers found colorectal cancer was more persistent in eastern Kentucky than other parts of Kentucky and the nation. 

That study also showed a colorectal cancer mortality rate of nearly 26 out of each 100,00 people a year in the region. 

Griffin James is a senior at UK in ACTION and described cancer in his county like an invasive vine.

He said, “While it starts small, it becomes invasive and aggressive, incredibly fast and without taking the proper precautions and measures, it can destroy it.”

The students shared their work with Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, D-Kentucky, on Friday.

She said of their project, “You think about the images that they’ve taken to further the conversation. That’s art. There’s writing, there’s science in the research. I mean, these are some really well-rounded, talented students coming out of eastern Kentucky that, again, are going to change the future of Kentucky’s health care.”

Coleman, a breast cancer survivor, celebrates the mission of ACTION.

Related Stories