USF College of Nursing receives American Cancer Society Institutional Research grant through Moffitt Cancer Center

Cindy Tofthagen, PhD, ARNP, AOCNP, Assistant Professor and Director of Oncology Nursing Master’s Concentration at the University of South Florida College of Nursing, is the principal investigator on a $30,000 Institutional Research grant received by the University of South Florida College of Nursing from the American Cancer Society  through Moffitt Cancer Center to study the usability and acceptability of an electronic self-management system for chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy.

The award will assist her research team in developing and evaluating a web-based program for patients to help them better manage symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, a serious side effect of many types of chemotherapy. Dr. Tofthagen will collaborate to develop the program with Denise A. Passmore, PhD, Assistant Professor and Academic Writer/Editor to the Dean at the USF College of Nursing.

“We are extremely hopeful that the research funded  by this grant will one day help relieve symptoms and improve the quality of life of people undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, as well as cancer survivors who are affected by chemotherapy-induced periperal neuropathy,” Dr. Tofthagen said. “Here at the USF College of Nursing we have a cadre of scientists dedicated to research that improves the health of people with cancer and the ACS-IRG grant will be instrumental in helping to fulfill that mission.”

Dr. Tofthagen’s research focuses on interventions to relieve symptoms, improve physical functioning, and enhance quality of life in persons undergoing cancer treatment as well as cancer survivors. She is an active member of the Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). Tofthagen is a USF Nursing PhD alumna and is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the University of Massachusetts Boston.