Last Call:  Invitation to Sign on to ACS CAN Letter Calling on USPSTF to Update the CRC Screening Recommendation

ACS CAN is sending a letter to the USPSTF to nominate the colorectal cancer screening recommendation for an update ahead of schedule and is inviting interested organizations to sign the letter.  Background:  In light of the new ACS CRC Screening guideline, which recommends starting CRC screening at age 45, many of you have expressed concern about the lack of insurance coverage for 45 to 49 year olds.  As you may know, the law requires insurers to cover preventive services with a USPSTF A or B rating free of cost sharing, but the current USPSTF recommends that colorectal cancer screening start at age 50.  According to the USPSTF website, individuals and organizations can contact the USPSTF to nominate a topic to be updated at any time.  Updates are prioritized by USPSTF on different criteria, including whether there is new evidence that may change a current recommendation.  To view the proposed letter, click here.  To sign your organization on to the letter, click here by Noon ET Friday, August 10^th.  Please contact Caroline Powers, Director, Federal Relations at ACS CAN with questions: [email protected]

Coming Soon:  Registration for the 2018 NCCRT Annual Meeting!

In the coming days, NCCRT members will be receiving their personalized registration link for the 2018 NCCRT Annual Meeting in an email from the American Cancer Society.  The meeting will be held on November 14^th, 15^th and 16th at the Sheraton Inner Harbor in Baltimore, MD.  Pre-conference activities, including the Task Group meetings, will occur on November 14th.  Note that members are responsible for their own travel and lodging costs, but members are able to reserve a room in the rooming block during the registration process.  If you would like to request a room in the block, we suggest registering sooner rather than later.   Learn more here.

And a big thank to organizations that have already agreed to sponsor the 2018 NCCRT Annual Meeting: Bracco Diagnostics and Quest Diagnostics! We are incredibly grateful to you for your support (before we even officially asked)!  If you are interested in meeting sponsorship, please contact [email protected]

We look forward to seeing you there!

New NCCRT Resource:  Sample CRC Risk Assessment & Screening Algorithms

The NCCRT has recently released new sample risk assessment and screening algorithms.  These algorithms include recommended screening options for the average-risk and high-risk patient and can serve as a starter policy for your practice. Two samples are provided to meet the needs of practices using either the USPSTF screening recommendations or the 2018 American Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Screening Guideline.  These algorithms are also included in our new Risk Assessment And Screening Toolkit To Detect Familial, Hereditary And Early Onset Colorectal Cancer  Many thanks to Durado Brooks, Laura Makaroff, Dennis Ahnen, Heather Hampel, John Roberts, and Cheryl Modica for their review and input on the algorithm. 

Temporary 80% Graphic

As many you have heard us say, a new umbrella CRC screening campaign will be coming for 2019, but in the meantime, we know your “80% by 2018” materials are at the end of their shelf life.  We are beginning the process of updating many of our most popular 80% by 2018 products with a temporary fix, until the new campaign slogan is decided.  We appreciate that many of you continue to act with urgency on this issue every day, and we want to be helpful to you in your work.   To start, you can now download a refreshed 80% graphic, after signing our responsible use agreement.  Many more materials will follow!

Relevant Journal Article

A recent article came out in Gastroenterology: Effects of Organized Colorectal Cancer Screening on Cancer Incidence and Mortality in a Large, Community-based Population.  The article concluded that implementing an organized CRC screening program in a large, community-based population rapidly increased screening participation to greater than the 80% target.  Notably, results include that higher rates of screening were associated with a 25.5% reduction in annual CRC incidence between 2000 and 2015 and a 52.4% reduction in cancer mortality.  Congratulations to NCCRT friends TR Levin, Ann Zauber, and Chyke Doubeni, as well as the other authors for their work on this important study.  Many thanks to Laura Makaroff for bringing this article to our attention.

Congratulations

Dr. Andrew Albert of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, one of our 80% by 2018 National Achievement Award Champions and speaker at last year’s NCCRT annual meeting, was recently named by Streetwise one of the 2018 Most Inspiring Chicagoans for his work launching the grassroots awareness campaign #backoffcoloncancer.  Sincere congratulations to Dr. Albert!

New CDC Video Explains Bureau of Cancer Statistics

A new video from CDC briefly explains what the US Cancer Statistics is and how it can be used. USCS covers all 50 state, DC, and Puerto Rico and can be used to bring together different data, create full color charts, explore trends over time, and explains how to use the data.

Do you Have 80% by 2018 Pictures to Share?

The NCCRT is in the midst of producing a glossy report that readily articulates the history, progress, key milestones, and successes of the 80% by 2018 effort.  We are looking for photos from a variety of partners that capture the spirit of the 80% by 2018 effort to include in the report.  If you have high quality photos for us to consider, please send the photos to [email protected] with “80% by 2018 Photo” in the subject line, indicating names of those in the photo, photo date, and location, along with a brief statement given us royalty-free permission to use the photo in the NCCRT publication.  Please note that not all photos will be accepted.

Many thanks to all of you for the important work you do.  Have a good week!