NEWS & RESEARCH

Dear NCCRT Members:

We wanted to share developments around 80% by 2018, keep you apprised of our plans to achieve this goal and share some opportunities for you to get involved.

Earlier this month, our friends at C-Change joined many of you in embracing the 80% by 2018 goal, making them the 100^th organization to do so.  Organizations from all across the country, representing all types of constituents, continue to make the 80% by 2018 pledge every day.  While the 80% by 2018 goal was conceived by the Roundtable and the initial make- up of organizations embracing the goal consisted mostly of Roundtable members, we are seeing an exciting shift with the goal expanding well beyond the NCCRT to include many additional national organizations, state health departments, comprehensive cancer coalitions, hospitals, medical practices, survivor groups and many others.  The enthusiasm for 80% by 2018 has been nothing short of extraordinary.

We know it will take all hands on deck to get there, so how do we make sure we achieve this ambitious, but achievable goal?   How can we empower communities, patients, providers, community health centers and health systems to embrace models that work and develop the partnerships needed to deliver coordinated, quality colorectal cancer screening and follow up care?  How can we come up with newer and more effective strategies to reach lower income individuals?  These are just a few of the questions we need to answer.

This summer, we will be hosting a series of small workgroup meetings to map out our strategy for achieving 80% by 2018.  This effort will start with an expanded NCCRT Steering Committee meeting in June in which we are inviting representatives from a sample of Roundtable members to join the Steering Committee for a strategic mapping session.  The purpose of the meeting is to provide high level direction on 80% by 2018 through the work of NCCRT members and the work of the NCCRT Task Groups.  The goal is to come away with broad strategies, a work map and clear lines of responsibility for getting to 80% by 2018.

This big picture mapping session will be followed by a series of Task Group meetings to create more detailed plans for several of our key Task Groups, including Public Awareness and Social Media on July 17^th and Professional Education and Practice on July 30^th.  Additionally, Congressman Donald Payne, Jr. is working through Fight Colorectal Cancer and ACS CAN to conduct a policy stakeholders meeting on July 16^th, which will be followed by a lobby day.  While Fight Colorectal Cancer and ACS CAN will be the lead on that session, NCCRT members will have an opportunity to participate.

Our intent is to be as inclusive as possible, as the only way to get to 2018 is by working together.  If your organization has embraced 80% by 18, we will be reaching out to invite your organization to send a representative to attend one of these special sessions.

We have some difficult issues to work through and some heavy lifting to do, but the opportunity to achieve this ambitious colon cancer screening goal is within reach, and I am eager to work with all of you in getting there.

So please join us as we roll up our sleeves and continue building the bridge to March of 2018.

Eighty percent screening rate by 2018…I can see it.

 

Rich

Richard Wender, MD

National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Chair

Chief Cancer Control Officer

American Cancer Society, Inc.