Dear Ms. Griffin:



The National Cancer Institute (NCI) acknowledges the value of
collaborative research for the advancement of medical science. This
is especially true for the field of cancer complementary and
alternative medicine (CAM) research where successful cancer CAM
research studies require solid partnerships between a CAM
practitioner and a researcher, each with equally necessary unique
expertise and resources.



NCI's Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine
(OCCAM) is hosting a conference to examine the factors associated
with developing successful research collaborations and also issues
that have caused difficulties in such relationships. OCCAM would
like to learn from your experiences related to this topic.



To accomplish this task, OCCAM is hosting a thirty (30) day public
comment session seeking feedback, particularly those of cancer CAM
researchers and practitioners, on the following:

Examples of successful collaborations between CAM practitioners and
researchers
Examples of unsuccessful collaborations between CAM practitioners
and researchers
Examples of issues concerning CAM practitioner and researcher
collaborations that you think should be addressed


We are particularly interested in examples drawn from cancer
research, however, examples from other research areas are welcome.



In addition, we also would like to ask for your assistance in
sharing the news about this public comment session with your members
by sending a notice out through your listserv or by posting our link
to your Web site. Comments and/or suggestions may be submitted
between May 1, 2007 and May 30, 2007 via the OCCAM Web site at
http://www.cancer.gov/cam.



Sincerely,











Jeffrey D. White, M.D.

Director

Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine

National Cancer Institute, NIH

6116 Executive Blvd., Suite 609

Bethesda, MD 20892

Phone: 301-435-7980

Fax: 301-480-0075

Email: ncioccam-r@...

Web site: http://cancer.gov/cam