Happy New Year!  We can’t believe that it’s actually 2018.  We have lots of news to share, as we start what we hope will be a great year!

Mark Your Calendars – Thursday, March 8^th 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific – for a Live Broadcast! 

As we announced at the NCCRT meeting, we will be hosting a live broadcast from the “Blue Carpet” in Los Angeles to celebrate the start of March on Thursday, March 8^th at 4:00pm ET/1:00pm Pacific. The theme this March is Colorectal Cancer Screening Coast to Coast: Driving to 80%. We are partnering with Fight CRC, the American Cancer Society, the Mayo Clinic, Exact Sciences, UPS, and others to leverage the voices of celebrities, survivors, and experts to educate people about colorectal cancer and the life-saving importance of screening. Join us, as we feature Actor Luke Perry, Country Singer Craig Campbell, and many others who will speak from the heart about their connection to this disease and the importance of screening.

How can you be a part of CRCCoast2Coast?

• If you are in the Los Angeles area, join us! Register by February 20^th. Space is limited.
• Send us your colorectal cancer screening PSAs for possible airing during the broadcast. Email them to [email protected] with “CRC PSA” in the subject line. The format we need is: H264 (usually .mov) or MP4 1920×1080. (Due to size, you will likely need to send through dropbox or other file sharing service).
• Not going to be in LA?  Plan on viewing the event, sharing on social media, or hosting a watch party. Post pictures and videos on Twitter or Instagram using #80by2018 or #CRCcoast2coast. Visit the website to learn more and for updates.
• Those of you in the DC area can join us later in the month on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on March 20^th as Fight CRC, ACS CAN and the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (NCCRT) map out the road to 80% screened and beyond from Capitol Hill! (Part of Fight Colorectal Cancer’s Call-on Congress.) Register to join us.

Tell Us What You Are Doing this March

We want to feature your events that are helping to advance screening or raise awareness throughout the month of March!

• Are you hosting an awareness event, gathering partners for a roundtable meeting or turning your city blue? Let us know! We’ll add you to our map on the CRCcoast2coast website.
• Post pictures and videos from a screening event you host on social media. Post on Twitter or Instagram using #80by2018 or #CRCcoast2coast
• Share a :30 second video about your 80% by 2018 successes on YouTube. Email the link to [email protected] with “80% by 2018 Success” in the subject line. View this video from the OSU PACE program, featuring Dr. Darrell Gray as an example.

Save the Date – NCCRT Webinar, Tuesday, Jan. 30^th at 1:00pm ET: How to Assure Follow Up Colonoscopy for Positive FIT from the Process Side

On Jan. 30^th at 1:00pm ET, the NCCRT will be hosting a webinar on How to Assure Follow Up Colonoscopy for Positive FIT from the Process Side.  This is a repeat of one of our most highly rated workshops from the NCCRT meeting last month.  The purpose of the workshop is to review evidence and processes to help ensure that patients obtain a follow-up colonoscopy after a positive test result.  The webinar will feature: Kevin Selby, MD, Kaiser Permanente Division of Research; Amanda Petrik, Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research; Frank Colangelo, MD, FACP, Premier Medical Associates; and Jason A. Dominitz, MD, MHS, FASGE, AGAF Department of Veterans Affairs. The webinar is open to NCCRT members, 80% by 2018 partners, CDC grantees, ACS Health Systems and Communications staff, and new partners interested in getting engaged in colorectal cancer screening efforts.

(Note:  This webinar will not address access issues.  For advice on securing access to colonoscopy, check out our webinars on Links of Care from 2017 and 2015.  For more general guidance on implementing FIT screening programs, view this webinar or check out our new resource on stool based testing).

New Blog with NCCRT Annual Meeting Highlights

A new 80% by 2018 Blog is now live, featuring highlights from last month’s NCCRT Annual Meeting:  http://nccrt.org/80by2018Blog  Also, many slide sets from the NCCRT annual meeting are now posted and can be found beneath the presenter’s name in the “At a Glance” agenda.

If you or your colleagues would like to share the blog on social media, you are welcome to use our shortened URL (http://ow.ly/WL2dI) and/or to retweet/repost the messages we are sharing through @NCCRTnews and facebook.com/coloncancerroundtable.

NCI Pre-Application Webinar Tomorrow, Jan. 18^th at 1:00pm ET on Funding Announcement: Follow-up to Abnormal Screening Tests [PA-17-495]

An NCI webinar will be held tomorrow, Wed., January 18^th at 1:00pm ET to provide an overview of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Multilevel Interventions in Cancer Care Delivery: Follow-up to Abnormal Screening Tests (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) [PA-17-495].  This FOA encourages applications that develop and test multilevel interventions to improve follow-up to abnormal screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal, or lung cancers.  You are encouraged to submit questions in advance so that NCI can review and address them during the webinar. The intended audience is extramural investigators at junior, mid-, and senior levels.  Click here to register.

Submit Your Poster Abstracts Now for the 2018 Dialogue for Action® Meeting – Deadline, Friday, January 19^th at 5:00pm ET

The Prevent Cancer Foundation has issued a call for poster abstracts to be featured at this April’s Dialogue for Action meeting.  Submit your poster abstract to share your successful and innovative clinical practice or public health program to improve cancer screening or prevention in your community. This is an opportunity to present your work to others and exchange ideas to better serve our communities and workplaces. Poster abstracts are due by this Friday, January 19 at 5 p.m. ET.  Contact [email protected] with any questions.  Submit your abstracts here.

Registration for the Dialogue is now open and will be held on April 11^th, 12^th and 13^th in McLean, VA.

Call for 80% by 2018 Manuscripts – Deadline Extended to March 15^th, 2018

The American Journal of Gastroenterology has issued a call for manuscripts for their upcoming special issue, “80% by 2018 Colorectal Cancer Initiative:  Did We Make It?”  As you all know, in 2014, we proposed an ambitious national goal to screen 80% of all eligible U.S. adults for colorectal cancer (CRC) by 2018. Well, 2018 is here. Did we make it? Where did we succeed and what can we still improve? The American Journal of Gastroenterology requests your original research and insightful reviews about the current state of colorectal cancer screening and prevention.  The manuscript deadline is March 15^th, 2018.  View this flyer for more information.

New Journal Article on the Value Of Waiving Coinsurance For Colorectal Cancer Screening In Medicare Beneficiaries

A journal article that appeared in Health Affairs last month explored the value of waiving coinsurance for CRC screening for Medicare beneficiaries.  The study used a microsimulation model to estimate both costs and deaths prevented that would result from waiving the coinsurance. Congratulations to study authors and NCCRT friends Reinier Meester, Chyke Doubeni, Stoney Anderson, Frank Berger, and Ann G. Zauber, as well as to the other authors!  Many thanks to Stacey Fedewa, Joel Brill, and Ann Zauber for sending us this article.

NCCRT Member Sue Lagarde in the News Speaking about the Fiscal Cliff

The Harford Business Journal interviewed NCCRT Member Dr. Sue Lagarde, CEO of Fair Haven Community Health Care, about the “fiscal cliff” and the tremendous financial uncertainty health centers are facing right now nationwide.  View the article here.  Congratulations to Dr. Lagarde for bringing awareness to this important issue.

Cook County CARES Program Featured in Healthy People 2020 Stories from the Field Blog

The Cook County CARES program and NCCRT Member Dr. Karen Kim were featured in the Healthy People 2020 Stories from the Field, a blog series highlighting communities across the nation that are addressing the Leading Health Indicators (LHIs), for their work increasing colorectal cancer screening rates in Illinois.  Click here to visit the blog and learn more about this impressive program. Congratulations to Dr. Kim and her colleagues, and thank you to Dorry Lane for flagging this blog for us.

Save the Date for the 3^rd Annual Southeast Colorectal Cancer Consortium in New Orleans

The SE Consortium Planning Committee is hard at work planning the 3^rd Annual Southeast Colorectal Cancer Consortium in New Orleans.   Registration is not yet open, but please save the date for the 2018 Consortium, which will be held on June 27^th through 29^th at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.  Best practices will be shared and topics include: What is happening around the nation, and the Southeast with regard to colorectal cancer? What is the role of health Insurers and large medical systems? How can primary care physicians and gastroenterologists help? What is the responsibility of public health professionals? What kinds of data should be collected, how can it be gathered, and how can it be used to motivate?

Thank you again, and Happy 2018!