Welcome to this latest edition of CRC News, the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT) periodic newsletter for ACS NCCRT members and partners working toward our shared goal to reach 80% in Every Community.

Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month Highlight: Communications Resources 

Use the ACS NCCRT’s Suite of Communications Resources to Bolster your CRC Screening Efforts 

In celebration of National CRC Awareness month, the ACS NCCRT would like to highlight a few of our signature communications resources:  

• The 2023 Lead Time Messaging Guidebook: A Tool to Encourage On-Time CRC Screening – This guidebook is intended to provide you with information and tools to motivate individuals at average and heightened risk for CRC to discuss screening prior to the recommended screening age, with the goal of getting them screened on-time for CRC. To learn more about the guidebook, visit this link, or for innovative ideas on how to increase public awareness in the field, watch our most recent webinar.  
• Tailoring Colorectal Cancer Screening Messaging: A Practical Coalition Guide – This guide is targeted at coalition members and other partners who are looking to make highly effective campaigns to increase CRC screening rates in their communities, especially for those hardest to reach. Learn more and read the guide here.  
• The 2022 Messaging Guidebook for Black & African American People: Messages to Motive for Colorectal Cancer Screening – This guide is intended to provide you with information and tools to help you work towards closing disparity gaps with this specific group by using effective, tailored cancer screening messaging to help motivate people to get screened. Learn more and read the guide here.  

Lastly, explore our communications hub or filter our resources to find resources to support work with specific populations or in particular settings.  

Register Now: American Cancer Society Webinar Series for Community Health Centers 

The Session on March 27 Covers Colorectal Cancer Trends and Health Center Insights 

On March 27th from 1-2 PM ET, the American Cancer Society will hold a webinar focused on health centers covering the current state of colorectal cancer (CRC), the urgent need for screening patients aged 45-55, and a review of tools and resources available. Attendees will hear from: 

• Rebecca Siegel, MPH, Senior Scientific Director, Surveillance Research, American Cancer Society;  
• Anay Puente, RN, Regional Charge Nurse, Family Heath Services, a 2024 ACS NCCRT National Achievement Award health center honoree; and 
• Keith Winfrey, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer, New Orleans East Louisiana Community Health Center and ACS NCCRT Steering Committee member. 

Registration is free and is open to ACS NCCRT members, CDC grantees, ACS and ACS CAN staff, and other partners working to increase CRC screening and reduce mortality from CRC. 

Recording & Slides: 2025 National CRC Awareness Webcast 

The Webcast Celebrated National Achievements and Covered the Latest State of the Field Updates 

The recording and slides from last week’s annual ACS NCCRT National CRC Awareness Webcast are now available on our website. In the recording, you will hear from our ACS NCCRT chair and vice-chair, Steven Itzkowitz, MD, FACP, FACG, AGAF, and Gloria Coronado, PhD; Priti Bandi, Scientific Director, Risk Factors & Screening Research, American Cancer Society; and other special guests, including our 2025 National Achievement Award winners. 

American Indian Cancer Foundation: Blue Beads Toolkit Available 

The Toolkit Covers Culturally Responsive CRC Messaging on Social Media 

The American Indian Cancer Foundation, an ACS NCCRT member, is promoting their 2025 #BlueBeadsDay Social Media Toolkit, which aligns with Blue Beads Day on Thursday, March 20, 2025. The toolkit was created to engage community members, health professionals, and leaders working towards cancer equity in raising awareness for CRC in Native communities. It includes sample posts for social media while encouraging those engaging to personalize posts with information and pictures unique to the communities they serve.  

Interested in Joining the 2025 ACS NCCRT Annual Meeting Planning Committee? 

Share your Skills and Expertise to Shape our Next Annual Meeting Agenda 

The ACS NCCRT is seeking Roundtable members to join the 2025 ACS NCCRT Annual Meeting Planning Committee, the committee that helps develop the agenda and logistics for our annual meeting, in concert with the Roundtable staff and the ACS NCCRT Steering Committee. The 2025 annual meeting will take place November 19-21, 2025, with the location to be announced soon. 

• Scope: Planning committee members work as a group to ideate agenda topics and flow, select expert speakers, and advise on ways to optimize the attendee experience. 
• Commitment: Planning committee members are asked to participate in up to eight 45-minute calls hosted this April through September (typically one call per month with two calls per month in May and June).  
• Qualifications: Any non-corporate ACS NCCRT member representatives are invited to put their names forward for the committee. Preference will be given to individuals who have attended one or more ACS NCCRT annual meetings, who have a broad knowledge of colorectal cancer-related topics and expert speakers, and/or who have meeting planning experience. We do not anticipate being able to include all members that share their interest, but we will aim to include as many as we can.  
• How to share your interest: If you believe you have skills and expertise that would be a good fit for the committee, please complete this interest form by end of day April 1, 2025.  

Aid Recruitment for the VOICES of Black Women Study 

Celebrate Women’s History Month by Promoting This Critical, Health Equity-Focused Study 

In May 2024, the American Cancer Society launched the VOICES of Black Women study—a long-term health study, which will be powered by the perspectives of 100,000 Black women in all 50 states and Washington, DC. The goal of this study is to better understand how and why health conditions like cancer disproportionately affect Black women so that we can strive for enhanced health outcomes for current and future generations. This study adds to ACS’s long history of conducting large-scale population studies (known as the Cancer Prevention Studies), where more than 2.5 million participants have helped us improve our understanding of cancer to inform guidelines for cancer screening and prevention, advocacy, and patient support programming. As such, VOICES is a continuation of this legacy and a manifestation of our vision of ending cancer as we know it, for everyone.   

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, we are calling upon our members and partners to join us in this movement by sharing VOICES with your organization, membership, or network using the email template linked below. This message details how any individual can contribute to the health of Black women either by enrolling in the study (if eligible) or sharing with Black women in personal networks.   

Many thanks for the great work you do and best of luck with March as Colorectal Cancer Awareness month this year!

The ACS NCCRT Team

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