For decades, health care workers on Guam have known that cancer is one of the leading causes of death on our island. No comprehensive cancer research or data collection existed to address this urgent health crisis.

In 2003, on a mission to reduce cancer health disparities among Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, the University of Guam partnered with the University of Hawaii Cancer Center to establish the Pacific Island Partnership for Cancer Health Equity, PIPCHE.

This partnership provided crucial funding and paved the way for the development of Guam’s first formal cancer research efforts, helping our island take an active role in understanding and fighting this deadly disease.