450 CANCER SUMMIT ‘TAKING IT TO THE STREETS’

A state cancer summit, fueled by efforts of the Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition, will be held Thursday, June 15, at the Vanderbilt Student Life Center. MTSU and the Center for Health and Human Services are among several key partners in providing funding and expertise for community-based initiatives that will be showcased during the summit.
“Taking It to the Streets: Summit on the Burden of Cancer in Tennessee” will address such issues as creating access to services for the homeless and how to utilize churches to raise awareness of the importance of cancer screenings for African Americans, a high-risk population.
The TCCCC is composed of 272 individuals and organizations in Tennessee—divided into three regional cancer workgroups—all charged with the responsibility of raising cancer awareness and implementing cancer-control activities. According to Coalition literature, more than 32,000 Tennesseans will be diagnosed with some form of cancer this year.
“MTSU is proud to join the State of Tennessee, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the leading cancer-care institutions in our state in this mission to fight cancer in Tennessee,” said Dr. Jo Edwards, CHHS director.
The Center was developed to encourage quality education, research and service programs to meet the needs of Middle Tennessee’s medical, health and human services community. It collaborates with public agencies and private not-for-profit organizations to develop and implement programs designed to improve the health of the greater Tennessee community, Edwards said.
Early in the process, the Center received a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and, partnering with MTSU’s School of Nursing, conducted a comprehensive cancer-control needs assessment across the state, which became part of a five-year master plan from the TCCCC.
The keynote speaker for the summit will be Dr. Les Robinson of St. Jude Children’s Hospital, who will discuss the emerging focus on cancer survivorship. There are as many as 10 million cancer survivors living today.
The Coalition will be recruiting members to join the Middle Tennessee regional workgroup, which is implementing strategies to increase cancer detection and reduce colorectal, tobacco-related and childhood cancers.
For detailed information on the summit or to become involved, call ReJeana Colman at 615-435-5759 or Gail Hardin at 615-936-5885—or visit www.vicc.org/2006summit.