Alumni Profile

Ayse Tezcan knows how important preventive measures, education, and early treatment are in fighting cancer. She lost her father to the disease when she was only 11 and he just 45, at a time when the dangers of smoking simply weren't common knowledge. Now, through her work with the Kootenai Cancer Center and the CA.RE (Care Research) Foundation, Tezcan is dedicated to making sure that knowledge capable of preventing the loss of loved ones is shared by all.

Part of Ayse's success is her unique global perspective to problem solving in the health care field. Her degree in business from Istanbul's Bogazici University and her work with bank CEO and Economist Europe's 1986 Man of the Year, Husnu Ozyegin, gave her strong leadership and decision-making skills. Her pre-med studies in organic chemistry and her graduate work, which included cancer immunology and cytology, gave her a clinical understanding of disease. Meanwhile, her experiences as a research technologist gave her insight into what she calls the "diligence, patience, discipline, and beauty of scientific pursuit." Tezcan's name is found on abstracts and research studies on topics that range from organic chemistry to breast cancer care in rural communities, and she excelled at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, and the State University of New York (SUNY) in Buffalo.

It was during her time at SUNY Buffalo that her husband, oncologist Hluk Tezcan, received a job offer from the Kootenai Cancer Center in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. When looking into relocation, Ayse found she would be unable to continue her graduate studies in cancer immunology. Then she learned of University of Washington's (UW) Extended MPH Degree Program. Through it, she saw an opportunity to prepare for work in a field close to her heart, in a program that gave her the flexibility she wanted as a wife and a mother of two children.

Ayse is the director of the CA.RE Foundation, a nonprofit organization she founded with her husband, which distributes funds to cancer prevention and treatment programs in northern Idaho. CA.RE has provided more than $57,000.00 to the Idaho Panhandle Public Health District to promote health awareness programs and increase access to cervical cancer screenings¾one of the most effective tools available in cancer prevention. The foundation also awards grants for ongoing education of nursing and research staff and to ensure patients are better informed during cancer drug trials. The foundation's grants have also stimulated in-kind donations by local physicians, further broadening its reach. The Tezcan's efforts, which were awarded a Judy A. Holmes Award for Excellence in Partnership and Patient Focused Care in 2006, have enabled nearly 200 underinsured women to receive preventive cancer screenings from local gynecologists.

In addition to her work with CA.RE, Tezcan is a regulatory affairs consultant at Kootenai Cancer Center. Having a background in study development, initiation, and data collection, Ayse's opinions and quality control evaluations help ensure that prospective patients in medical trials receive the benefit and risk information they need to make informed decisions. Ayse's work in this field was also the focus of her thesis project, which received recognition at the American Public Health Association's 2006 annual meeting and spurred a dialogue concerning how to measure and ensure patient understanding.

So, after all of these achievements, is Ayse Tezcan satisfied with the reach of her work? Northern Idaho is likely just the beginning. This September, she leaves for a 6-month visit to Spain, where the Kootenai Cancer Center has opened a clinical trial through a local research center. There, she plans to learn both the language and the nature of the country's health care system. Eventually, Tezcan hopes to utilize her skills in conducting studies wherever Turkish, English, and Spanish are spoken.