It’s official – the Fred Hutch/University of Washington Cancer Consortium now serves the entire Evergreen State.

For years, the Cancer Consortium — made up of Fred Hutch, the University of Washington, Seattle Children’s, and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance — has served a “watershed,” or service area, of 13 Puget Sound counties. , which are home to approximately 5.2 million people.

But starting Jan. 1, the Cancer Consortium’s catchment area expanded to include all of Washington state, an addition of 26 counties, 2.3 million people, including several native tribes. Scientists at the National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center will now, in addition to their many national and international research collaborations, begin to expand their regional research, engagement and outreach to include all residents of the State.

“Catchment area is an important aspect of our Cancer Consortium,” said Dr. Tom Lynch, Consortium Director and President and Director of Fred Hutch. “This is a geographic representation of our consortium’s reach into many different communities to help meet their needs for cancer understanding, prevention and treatment.

Lynch said not every US county is within the catchment area of ​​a cancer center — about 15% of US counties, representing about 25 million people, are not covered.

“Anything we can do to increase this coverage will help the aging American population have access to cancer-focused resources,” he said.

Pediatrician Dr Jay Mendoza, Fred Hutch public health researcher and director of the Consortium’s Office of Community Outreach and Engagement, or OCOE, said he was “ecstatic” about the expansion.

“Everyone in Washington State should see the Hutch and the Cancer Consortium as their cancer center,” he said. “Whether it’s for their own care, whether they’re looking for information or interested in research. This should be a pride for Washington State. We are WWAMI’s only comprehensive cancer center [Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho] Region.”