Cancer has been the leading cause of death in North Carolina since 2009. The North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan 2014-2020: A Call to Action, released Nov. 7, 2014 by the Division of Public Health of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, presents a six-year plan to reduce the illness and death caused by cancer.
Morgan Daven, Senior Director for Primary Care Systems, American Cancer Society, and Co-Chair of The North Carolina Advisory Committee on Cancer Coordination and Control (ACCCC), which developed the plan stated, “The plan focuses on the science, what we know that works. It focuses on the cancers most affecting North Carolinians.”
The cancers include lung, colorectal, breast, prostate, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, and cervical cancer. The occurrence and death rates for these cancers in North Carolina are similar to, or worse than, the national averages.
The plan describes roles that individuals, community organizations, health care professionals and policy makers can play to reduce the psychological, social and economic impact of cancer in the state.
“We have input from people with cancer and from survivors. This is not just a medical system plan. It includes the voices and stories of people in North Carolina,” said Dr. Ruth Petersen, Chief of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention Section.
The ACCCC is a legislatively mandated, interdisciplinary committee. It includes representatives from the DHHS, the Department of Public Instruction, legislators, medical schools in the state, the Cancer Committee of the North Carolina Medical Society, Old North State Medical Society, North Carolina Hospital Association, North Carolina Association of Local Health Directors, medical directors of the North Carolina Association of Health Plans, clinicians, and cancer survivors.
The plan has five goals: 1) prevent new cancers; 2) detect cancer at its earliest stages; 3) treat all cancer patients with the most appropriate, most effective therapy; 4) enhance the quality of life for every person affected by cancer; and 5) reduce cancer-related disparities in North Carolina. It also provides evaluation strategies to measure progress toward the goals.
