SCIENTIFIC REPORT 2004 - Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center

C A N C E R P R E V E N T I O N A N D C O N T R O L P R O G R A M
• Studied a sample of low socioeconomic status
(SES) Hispanic breast cancer patients. This
study, led by Dr. Carver’s colleague, Susan
Alferi, Ph.D., found substantial differences
between women who identified themselves as
Catholic and those who identified themselves
as fundamentalist Christians. Among the
Catholic women, greater involvement in
religious coping was related to greater emotional
distress. Among the other women the
opposite pattern emerged. Clearly, the effect
of religious involvement varies with the nature
of the religious involvement.
• Examined the effects of early portions of the
experience on the quality of life of long-term
survivors (five years or more). This research has
found that higher levels of distress during the
period surrounding treatment related strongly
to higher levels of distress five to 15 years later.
One of these studies also found that women
who reported finding benefit in the cancer experience
during the first year post-treatment
had better emotional quality of life four to
seven years later.
LORA E. FLEMING, M.D., PH.D., M.P.H.,
M.Sc.
Professor of Epidemiology
and Public Health
DESCRIPTION OF RESEARCH
Dr. Fleming’s research interests are focused in
occupational and environmental medicine
and epidemiology. She is the only board-certified
and licensed occupational and enviromental
medicine physician and epidemiologist in South
Florida.
Dr. Fleming has performed funded research
on the health effects of methyl mercury contamination
in the Everglades (Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry and the Florida
Department of Health (FDOH)); a study of fumigation
workers with the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); a
study of pesticide levels and Parkinson’s disease
(University of Miami Glaser Award); an evaluation
of reported health effects of the fumigant
Benlate (FDOH); an evaluation of the human
health effects of hazardous waste incineration
(Florida Department of Environmental Protection);
an evaluation of the occupational health
effects of solid waste work (Center for Solid and
Hazardous Waste); back injury prevention in
firefighters (FDOH); several studies on the human
health effects of the marine toxin diseases
(National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences,
CDC, and the FDOH); a NIOSH Career
Development Award studying the chronic health
effects of a large cohort of licensed Florida pesticide
applicators; and has recently finished a large
cohort study of certified Florida firefighters
funded by NIOSH.
Dr. Fleming is associate director of the
NIEHS Marine and Freshwater Biomedical Sciences
Center at the University of Miami and director
of outreach and education at the center.
She serves and has served on numerous task
forces and committees, including the Florida
Birth Defects Registry, Florida Harmful Algal
Bloom Taskforce, and the Florida Pesticide Advisory
Committee.
Cancer-Related Activities
At UM/Sylvester, Dr. Fleming is the director of
research and project director for the Florida Cancer
Data System (FCDS), Florida’s incident tumor
registry. As part of her work with FCDS, Dr.
Fleming interacts with investigators, students, and
FCDS personnel to increase research opportunities
and educational outreach at the FCDS. With
her colleagues, Dr. Fleming has investigated the
cancer experience of Florida’s Hispanic population,
the risk of subsequent cancers among persons with
ovarian cancer, the risk of cancer among Florida’s
children, and the stage at which poor women in
Florida present for diagnosis of breast cancer.
Based on her research, which focuses on the
human health effects of marine and freshwater
toxins, Dr. Fleming has studied the possible asso-
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UM/Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Scientific Report 2004