State Program Highlights

Since 1998, the number of programs participating in the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP) has increased from 6 to 65. Ninety-nine percent of the 65 Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) programs are in various stages of implementation.

Effective strategies for reducing cancer deaths and the number of new cases of cancer include ensuring that evidence-based screening tests and treatments are available and accessible, and reducing behavioral and environmental risk factors. Examples of CCC programs in action include:

Colorado: Risk Reduction
Under the banner of "Citizens for a Healthier Colorado," voluntary health organizations, tobacco control advocacy organizations, and statewide chronic disease coalitions, including the Colorado Cancer Coalition, advocated for an increase in tobacco excise taxes. These taxes would allocate 16% of new revenues for the prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer, heart disease, and pulmonary diseases and 16% for tobacco prevention. Armed with the Colorado Cancer Plan, a broadly supported strategic action plan based on sound data, the coalition member organizations successfully garnered public support for Amendment 35 and its cancer-related provisions.

Since 2005, nearly $45 million has been distributed to support statewide and local efforts to prevent, detect, and treat cancer, heart disease, pulmonary disease, and related risk factors through a competitive grants program. An additional $90 million was distributed to local health agencies and nonprofit organizations for tobacco use prevention and cessation, eliminating exposure to secondhand smoke, and reducing health disparities resulting from tobacco use.

Cancer programs, including colorectal cancer screening, skin cancer education, genetics counseling and screening, patient navigation programs, prostate cancer education, and development of a health disparities action team, have received funding.

Maine: Early Detection
Recognizing the need for a dramatic impact on the cancer burden, the Maine Cancer Consortium, Maine's statewide comprehensive cancer control partnership, has updated its Cancer Plan to reflect emerging needs and new issues in cancer prevention, detection, and care.

The 2006–2010 Maine Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan includes objectives and strategies to address colorectal cancer specifically. Achievements include:

• Implementing a colorectal cancer social marketing campaign to increase awareness about the benefits of colorectal cancer screening in residents aged 50 years and older. In 2005 and 2006, two television commercials led to 15,129,886 viewer impressions.



• Developing and disseminating a Colon Cancer Community Action Kit to more than 60 community coalitions.



• Awarding seven community mini-grants to increase colon cancer screening awareness. Maine also secured a visit to two communities from the Colossal Colon (a nonprofit organization dedicated to colorectal cancer education) in 2007 to continue raising awareness of colorectal cancer in those communities.

North Carolina: Building Partnerships
The North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NC CCCP) convened the first-recorded meeting of the North Carolina (NC) American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer hospitals in October 2007, entitled "Working Together to Reduce the Burden of Cancer for all North Carolinians." Sixty-four individuals, representing 27 of the 38 hospitals, attended. As a direct result of that meeting, the NC CCCP sponsored the organization of the NC Cancer Centers' Collaborative. The Collaborative will serve as the umbrella organization and assist the NC CCCP in developing the NC Cancer Patient Navigators' Association. The NC CCCP Program Director continues to invite the participation of representatives from the remaining hospitals and to work with the Collaborative to create a steering committee. A statewide survey to assess patient navigation services also was conducted.

Oklahoma Cherokee Nation: Addressing Health Disparities
Cherokee Nation was the first tribal nation to develop a CCC Plan for its population (published in 2006). The goal of this data-driven, systematic CCC Plan is to address cancer priorities and sites to reduce the cancer burden in Cherokee Nation. In October 2006, Cherokee Nation successfully convened the first Cherokee Nation Cancer Summit to promote the Cherokee Nation CCC Plan and its implementation, and increase awareness about cancer disparities among the community and its leaders, health professionals, and other entities interested in eliminating cancer disparities in Cherokee Nation. Participants were diverse representatives from the state and region, including key Cherokee Nation and state partners, cancer survivors, researchers, health care providers, legislators, and tribes.

The release of the Cherokee Nation CCC plan at the summit greatly increased credibility and awareness of the Cherokee Nation CCC Plan, its goals, and cancer disparities in Cherokee Nation. As a result of the summit,

• Partnership with the University of Oklahoma (OU) was greatly enhanced, with Cherokee Nation entering into a $1.5 million Memorandum of Understanding with OU-Tulsa for chronic disease care, including cancer care.



• Cherokee Nation is working with the Oklahoma Society of Clinical Oncologists on an initiative to facilitate access to clinical trials in Oklahoma and surrounding states. The Cherokee Nation Web site will serve as the central site for information on this initiative.

Overall, the summit helped meet Cherokee Nation Government Performance Results Act goals by raising awareness among providers about cancer screening, with a focus on colorectal cancer and disparities in Cherokee Nation.