Catch it early enough, and it can be killed.
But catch it too late, and cancer can grow unnoticed, mutating and multiplying until it defeats its prey.
There are ways to take down the predator, said Dr. Paul Okunieff, director of the UF Health Cancer Center, but not everyone knows about them.
That’s why he and a team of community health workers started the Community Cancer Resource Center, which held its grand opening Friday.
Located at 2401 SW Archer Road, the center will provide free cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment information for Florida residents. Former Alachua County School Board administrator Samuel Gaddy will direct the center, which is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
“This is really important for the people of Florida, and for this area in specific,” Okunieff said.
He said cancer kills more people in Florida than almost any other state, second only to California. And it takes more lives in Alachua County and Florida than any other cause, even car accidents, he said.
“Florida already does pretty bad,” Okunieff said. “Alachua does even worse.”
He said part of the reason is poor Floridians with cancer don’t seek the help they need.
“They frankly don’t even know what they should be seeking,” he said.
High illiteracy rates and wealth disparities discourage rural Alachua County residents from getting the help they need, he said. The new cancer resource center will provide information on every aspect of the disease, from mysterious lumps to blood-filled lungs.
Catching lung cancer early means chances of survival are more than 80 percent, he said. Catch it too late, and the chances are zero.
Because a lot of people in the area smoke, Okunieff said, “we’re basically southern Georgia.”
The center is the brainchild of Folakemi Odedina, director of community outreach and minority affairs at UF College of Medicine’s Prostate Disease Center.
Odedina said the cancer resource center, despite being housed in Gainesville, will be a statewide asset. Floridians can get advice and counseling by phone, she said.
It’s funded by HealthStreet, the community outreach branch of the UF epidemiology department that attempts to reduce health disparities in the area by providing free information and resources.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 4/21/2014 under the headline "Local community cancer center opens"]
