The Commission on Cancer of American College of Surgeons has designated the Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System a Comprehensive Cancer Center/Teaching Hospital Cancer Program. The designation builds on affiliations with the UW and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and enables veterans to obtain comprehensive cancer care through multi-team specialists, state-of-the-art equipment, and access to clinical trials, education and support.

The Commission approves only those facilities willing to undergo rigorous evaluation and performance reviews. Slightly more than 20 percent of the nation's hospitals have Commission-approved cancer programs. More than 80 percent of newly diagnosed cancer patients are treated at these approved facilities.

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research has renewed funding for the Northwest Regional Spinal Cord Injury System. (Full story)

Frances Lefcort, associate professor of cell biology and neuroscience at Montana State University, will give this year's WWAMI Science in Medicine Lecture. (Full story)