Hello, I'm Dr. Lisa Richardson, director of CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control.
This year, we are celebrating 20 years of the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
Comprehensive cancer control brings together state, tribal, territorial, and local health departments,
community organizations, health care providers, decision makers, cancer survivors and their
caregivers, and others to put cancer control into action in our communities.
From the beginning of the initiative, our partners believed the best way to work together
would be to bring together stakeholders at the smallest geographic level
to solve the cancer problem relevant to the population affected.
Early discussions focused on establishing and supporting the coordination of on-the-ground
efforts at the state, tribal, territorial, and local level.
Identifying gaps and ways to address cancer control
is more effective as a collaborative effort.
So, twenty years ago, in 1998, CDC funded five states and one tribal organization
to do cancer control planning.
And that was the beginning of the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.
The number of programs grew to all 50 states,
the District of Columbia, seven U.S. associated Pacific islands and Puerto Rico,
and eight tribes and tribal organizations.
All 66 programs developed cancer plans through their cancer coalitions and subsequently built
capacity to put their plans into action.
In 1998, national partners, including the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer
Institute, and several others, came together and formalized the Comprehensive Cancer Control
National Partnership to support CDC's program and these local cancer coalitions.
Today, thousands of individuals work together in cancer coalitions that focus on the cancer
continuum, from reducing risk factors for getting cancer to highlighting the needs of
those who may be at the end of life.
You will hear more about the program from Nikki Hayes,
chief of our division’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Branch.
She will share how Cancer Prevention Works.
Thank you, Dr. Richardson.
Today, NCCCP provides the funding, guidance, and technical assistance used by 66 programs
to plan, implement, and evaluate scientifically proven ways to prevent and control cancer.
National cancer control planning was once just an idea among a few public health leaders.
Today, the NCCCP is the gold standard for community-based cancer prevention and control
efforts.
Comprehensive cancer control programs and their coalitions work together to:
Reduce people's risks of developing cancer; to make sure everyone gets the right cancer screening
at the right time; to help cancer survivors live longer, healthier lives;
and to make sure that communities with worse cancer
health outcomes have the best opportunities for improving health.
Let me share a few examples.
Comprehensive cancer control programs, in collaboration with their immunization colleagues,
are successfully increasing HPV vaccination coverage among adolescent girls and boys.
This will help reduce the incidence of HPV-associated cancers later in life.
Nearly every comprehensive cancer control program has established
colorectal cancer prevention as a priority.
Many are working to surpass the goal of having 80% of adults 50 and older
screened for colorectal cancer by the end of 2018.
More than 30 state teams are implementing action plans to reach the 80 by 2018 goal.
These states developed their action plans while attending workshops held by CDC and partners
including the National Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, the National Colorectal Cancer
Roundtable, and the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors.
Across the country, programs are effectively focusing on reducing skin cancer risk by providing
education about exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or from indoor tanning.
With our growing cancer survivor population, programs are working to understand and meet
the needs of cancer survivors, including physical and mental health needs.
They are also emphasizing the importance of survivorship care plans to guide follow-up treatment
when treatment is completed.
Lastly, all 66 of our comprehensive cancer control programs are committed to reducing
cancer disparities in underserved populations, so that all communities benefit from cancer
control strategies.
Today, we are leading nationwide efforts to develop, put into action, and promote effective
strategies to prevent and control cancer.
Through our evaluation efforts, we have evidence that the comprehensive cancer control approach
is working.
And I am pleased to report that lessons learned from the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program are being adapted to prevent
and control cancer in other parts of the world, including Africa.
We are very proud of the achievements made during the first 20 years of the National
Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, and we look forward to its continued success for
many years to come.
Please visit our website at www.cdc.gov/cancer/ncccp to learn more about our program, partners,
and why Cancer Prevention Works.
Thank you.