Hope Connections and UM Capital Region Health Partner to Offer Cancer Care and Support

LARGO, MD (September 12, 2022) – Individuals with cancer need both emotional and clinical support. University of Maryland Capital Region Health and Hope Connections have partnered to provide cancer support services to better serve cancer patients in Prince George's County and the surrounding area. Patients now have the benefit of seamless referrals to the All-Cancers Support Group, a free resource offered by Hope Connections for Cancer Support.

While rates of cancer incidence in Prince George's County are lower than those of Maryland as a whole, mortality rates in the County are higher. Prince George's age-adjusted cancer mortality rates are the fourteenth highest of Maryland's twenty-four counties. The three most common cancer diagnoses in Prince George's County Maryland include breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, and colorectal cancer.

Through an array of services, this partnership offers patients resources and support to manage stress and obtain information and emotional support from people with similar experiences.

These services support clinical care offered by UM Capital Region Health, who can now easily refer their patients to Hope Connections.

One year after opening the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center, the first brand-new hospital in the region in more than 30 years, construction is underway to expand the campus to include a Regional Cancer Center.

The new Regional Cancer Center aims to reduce the cancer disease burden in the local community, providing greater access to cancer screenings, leading to earlier detection and diagnosis of cancer and better outcomes for patients.

For more information on how to join the All-Cancers Support Group and access a suite of available resources that benefit the mind and body please visit: https://hopeconnectionsforcancer.org/programs. The support group meets weekly, virtually from 12-1 pm.

About Hope Connections

Hope Connections for Cancer Support came into existence in 2005 to ensure that no one in the Greater Washington Area would have to face cancer alone. We accomplish this through professionally facilitated programs of emotional support, education, wellness, and hope – all provided free of charge. We welcome anyone affected by cancer regardless of their cancer diagnosis, stage of disease, age, economic status, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or where they receive their medical care. We opened our Bethesda home in 2007 and our Landover home in 2016.  We offer 40 support groups, 60 mind/body groups, and 36 annual educational workshops.

About the University of Maryland Capital Region Health

Providing primary and specialty health care services to Prince George's County and the neighboring area, University of Maryland Capital Region Health was established in September 2017 upon formal affiliation with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and is committed to improving health outcomes in the communities it serves. University of Maryland Capital Region Health operates the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Largo, University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center, University of Maryland Bowie Health Campus, and the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Group with practice locations in Cheverly, Suitland, Bowie, Laurel, and the National Harbor. Together, community physicians and University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) faculty provide clinical expertise across a range of specialties and programs including acute rehabilitation; anesthesiology; critical and chronic ventilation care; emergency medicine; neonatology; orthopedics; and vascular surgery. University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center is home to the State's second-busiest trauma center and a highly regarded cardiac surgery program, which is led by faculty from the University of Maryland School of Medicine, a certified and designated primary stroke center. For more information, visit www.umcapitalregion.org

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