Dr. Jacqueline Casillas, clinical director of UCLA’s Pediatric Cancer Survivorship Program and associate director of the UCLA-LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence, has received the 2017 Unmasque “Caregiver” Award from the The Samfund organization for her decades-long commitment to young pediatric cancer survivorship.
The “Caregiver” Award honors an individual dedicated to providing quality support and services to individuals during and after cancer treatment.
“I am grateful and humbled to receive this award,” said Dr. Casillas, who is co-director of UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center Patients and Survivor Program. “From the point of diagnosis and beyond, we never stop caring for these children, as we are fortunate to have community support from others equally as passionate about improving their quality of life.”
Casillas’ research focuses on access to care, quality of life and quality of care for long-term survivors of childhood cancer. Some of her current projects include improving access to care for adult survivors of childhood cancer, assessing health status, medical care and preventive health practices of Latino adult survivors of childhood cancer, and explaining psychosocial and quality of life outcomes in Latino long-term survivors of childhood cancer.
The Samfund is the first and largest organization in the United States that supports young adults who are struggling financially because of cancer. Since 2005, The Samfund has awarded over $1.7 million in grants and provided free online support and education to young adults across the country.
