Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of death from cancer in men and women in the United States and a cause of considerable suffering among more than 130,000 adults diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year. The good news is that when adults get screened for colorectal cancer, it can be detected early at a stage when treatment is most likely to be successful, and in some cases, it can be prevented through the detection and removal of precancerous polyps. About 1 in 3 adults between 50 and 75 years old – about 23 million people — are not getting screened as recommended.

80% by 2018 is a National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable initiative in which hundreds of organizations have committed to substantially reduce colorectal cancer through screening – making our collective achievements the next big public health success story. If you haven’t already, pledge your organization’s support for 80% by 2018.


Honorees will be announced in March 2016 with recognition for additional awards provided throughout the year. 

Additionally, we will award the top 2016 honorees with a charitable donation. Our intent is that the donation be used to advance the good work being done to eliminate colorectal cancer as a major public health problem.

The top four submissions, as determined by an independent volunteer panel, will be awarded one of the following beginning in March 2016:

2016 Grand Prize

• $3,000 charitable donation on behalf of the honoree (if the honoree is a non-profit, they can receive the donation directly) and certificate of recognition
• Recognition during the 80% by 2018 NCCRT March webcast
• Invitation to special winners reception at the 2016 NCCRT Annual Meeting in Washington, DC in November 2016
• Acknowledgement on NCCRT social media outlets
• Project descriptions and bios featured on NCCRT.org
• The opportunity to be a guest writer for the new NCCRT 80% by 2018 blog
• A press release from the NCCRT announcing the award

2016 1st Runner Ups (four prizes)

• $1,000 charitable donation on behalf of the honoree (if the honoree is a non-profit, they can receive the donation directly) and certificate of recognition
• Invitation to special winners reception at the 2016 NCCRT Annual Meeting
• Acknowledgement on NCCRT social media outlets
• Project descriptions and bios featured on NCCRT.org
• A press release from NCCRT announcing the award

Additional runners up will receive honorable mentions on NCCRT.org and in NCCRT social media outlets beginning in April 2016 and leading up to the NCCRT Annual Meeting in November 2016. All awardees and honorable mentions will be recognized at the 2016 NCCRT Annual Meeting Awards Reception.

Almost anyone who believes their work can be considered an 80% by 2018 success story can submit an entry! Nominations and self-nominations will be accepted. NCCRT members and non-members alike can participate and individual or collaborative efforts are eligible. Nonprofits, corporations, individuals, community groups — anyone who is working toward the shared goal to achieve 80% by 2018. Note that the program is only open to US residents 18 years and older. ACS staff are not eligible to be nominated, but they are encouraged to submit nominations. Submissions could come from:

• Cancer Coalition/State Roundtable
• Community Health Center
• Community
• Employer
• Health Plan
• Hospital
• Individual Champion
• Physician Practice
• Policy Maker/Community Leader
• Survivor/Caregiver
• Other

Some examples could include:

• Leaders who are empowering people and organizations to work together to accelerate efforts to increase colorectal cancer screening rates, particularly among the unscreened.
• Individual survivors or those touched by colorectal cancer, who are using their personal story to educate about the importance of screening and ensure that others can benefit from life-saving screening tests.
• Public officials/Advocates who are working to ensure that barriers to screening are coming down.
• Organizations/medical practices putting processes and systems in place to make sure that each and every person eligible for screening gets a message about screening and knows how to successfully act on that message.
• Community Health Centers and other entities working to help the underserved overcome barriers to colorectal cancer screening.

An independent, volunteer team will consider such factors as the following in selecting honorees:

• INNOVATION: Did the nominee do something that was new or unique?
• IMPACT: Was the nominee able to measure impact? Or improve screening rates for a target population?
• COMMUNITIES IN NEED: How did the nominee’s activities address cultural challenges or the needs of underserved communities?
• VISIBILITY: How did the nominee increase the community’s awareness of colorectal cancer screening? Did the messages align with 80% by 2018 messaging?

Submissions forms should include:

• Submission category (e.g. Health Plan)
• Name, email address, organization (if applicable), phone number, city and state
• Project Goal/Individual mission
• Overview of the activity, initiative or outreach effort, including target audience (1,000 words or less)
• Reason individual/program entity should be recognized, including evidence of impact (250 words or less)

It’s easy! Submit your entry by completing the online Submission Form any time before the submission deadline, January 15, 2016 at 5 PM EST. However, we encourage you to get your nominations in early! Multiple nominations are permissible. By entering, the entrant agrees that the NCCRT may promote the winning entries in any form of media. (Nominated individuals/organizations will be contacted for promotion approval). While we must receive a complete application via the submission form linked above, we encourage you to share ideas and efforts through social media channels by using the hashtag #80%by2018SuccessStories. You may also email nccrt@cancer.org with any questions.