What is the main cancer-related project you are currently working on?
I work on trials related to both cancer prevention and control, including smoking cessation, physical activity, and diet. My main study right now focuses on increasing physical activity program referrals in cancer survivorship care. We are working to implement a patient survivorship screening questionnaire that will help to identify areas of survivorship care that are high priorities for providers to address (including physical activity) in care plans.
What do you hope to learn from your study?
We hope to understand best practices for integrating this survivorship work into clinical workflow for patient navigators and advanced practice providers, while also being the least burdensome to them and the patient. Time within appointments is often a reported barrier, and we want to streamline the process and use technology to assist in making screening, referrals and follow-up as efficient and effective as possible. While referrals within the electronic health record are made between providers, there is no system for providers to refer individuals to outside programs. We aim to provide a direct linkage between providers and physical activity programs to conduct the patient referral.
What is the impact of your research on the cancer community?
There are more than 17 million US cancer survivors to date. That means we have 17 million cancer people who are living with late and long-term effects from their disease and treatments. As a whole, the cancer continuum has received more attention and funding on the prevention and treatment side, and less on survivorship. The goal of my research is to provide these survivors with the support and resources needed to increase their quality of life, physical, mental, and emotional health.
How do you engage the community in your research and work?
My research involves working with local community programs (YMCAs) and also community member stakeholders. We are fortunate at UMass to have relationships with community advocates who are also involved in my project. To ensure the project meets the needs of the community, we developed and engaged a clinic-community advisory board which contributes to the decision and decision-making of the project. The board involves our clinical partners, patients and patient advocates and community program leaders.
What do you see as the most promising technology or approach in cancer control right now?
Technology has afforded us many opportunities to advance cancer prevention and control. In my research, we use technology to assist the interventions we provide. For instance, we may use a text messaging system to connect patients to physical activity programs, while also providing them supportive messages. We also have been fortunate to work with Dr. David McManus (Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School) and his team, who integrate wearable technology (i.e. Fitbits, Apple Watches) to monitor activity and other heart rate indices, into clinical care.
How have you seen the cancer control field change over time?
Though I have worked in cancer prevention for longer, I am fairly new to the cancer survivorship field (3 years). I know within just the past 3 years, I have seen a paradigm shift in which exercise is now seen as being paramount in cancer survivorship care. Efforts are being made to integrate exercise as a prescription in cancer survivorship, both during active treatment and in survivorship care plans.
Where do you see the future of cancer research going?
Cancer prevention, treatment and survivorship are all considered high priorities by large cancer research funding agencies, including the National Cancer Institute. Cancer prevention is focusing more on intervention work and less on surveillance, now having a better understanding of the lifestyle factors associated with cancer risk. Cancer treatment research will benefit from precision medicine, using people’s genetic and personal history, to provide individualized treatment therapies for those with cancer diagnoses. Cancer survivorship will continue to grow as our population ages, including the need for increased continuity of care as survivors’ transition from oncology care back into primary care. Technology will be pervasive in all these efforts, especially in my work by using wearable health tracking devices, supporting intervention delivery and using electronic medical records to gather individual patient data and facilitate communication between patients and providers.
What is the most enjoyable part of your job as a researcher?
I enjoy working with patients, clinical and community partners to understand the ways we can better help them. I have been able to do this more recently by conducting qualitative research, including one-on-one interviews and small focus groups. Patient stories of treatment experiences are all unique and incredibly insightful. Much of what they say informs subsequent interventions we create.
What inspires you?
I am really inspired by the healthcare workers I have encountered during my clinical work in the cancer survivorship realm. These individuals are on the front lines, interacting with patients from the first day of their diagnosis through their final treatment. I continuously hear stories about the impact they have had on patient’s lives and their dedication to caring for them.
What advice would you offer to a young student who’s considering becoming a cancer researcher?
Go for it! The number of cancer survivors in the US alone is predicted to reach over 22 million by 2030. These predictions highlight the need for more research on prevention, treatment and survivorship care. Research is a challenge because it is constantly evolving as we make advances in science, technology, etc. However, young researchers may actually be at an advantage due to being trained in more novel methodologies and at the forefront of forward-thinking research.
About Jamie Faro
Jamie Faro, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Dr. Faro earned her PhD in Exercise and Health Sciences from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Before pursuing her PhD, she spent many years as a collegiate athletic performance coach at Division 1 Institutions across the country.
