Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities

Because the National Cancer Institute (NCI) values the opinions of cancer survivors and others whose lives have been affected by cancer, it established the Consumer Advocates in Research and Related Activities program in 2001. CARRA was created to integrate the perspective of people affected by cancer into NCI programs and activities. It now serves as a model program and has plotted its own course of continuous improvement and development.

The CARRA program is administered by the NCI Office of Liaison Activities. The program consists of approximately 200 consumer advocates for those diagnosed with a wide variety of cancer types across the nation and in numerous age and ethnic groups. CARRA members form a highly qualified, pre-screened group of people. As participants in a wide range of NCI activities, they represent the collective viewpoint of their cancer community: those across the country whose lives are affected by cancer in similar ways. CARRA members also play a critical role as two-way information links between their own cancer-related networks and the NCI.

Dianne Traynor, Director of Research Funding Advocacy for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, has served as a CARRA member since 2001. More information on the program be found at the National Cancer Institute website.