Winter Issue 2011 N.D. Cancer Connection A quarterly update from the North Dakota Cancer Coalition. Letter from the Chair The American Society of Clinical Oncology conducts an annual independent review of advances in clinical cancer research. The society identifies the research that has had the greatest impact on patient care. This year there are a number of research articles on prevention Dr. John Leitch and screening. I want to share a couple of the research tremendous impact on articles with you. community health when we A report from the National can apply what we know about Cancer Institute, the U.S. screening to everyone who Centers for Disease Control may benefit. An example from and Prevention, the American North Dakota is our Women s Cancer Society and the North Way program. Since 2008 the American Association of number of women screened Cancer registries showed the has increased by over 1,700 number of new cancer cases with an increase in the declined about 1 percent per number of breast cancers year and death rates by 1.6 diagnosed and cervical percent annually over the last cancer/dysplasias diagnosed. several years. The declines in Discovery of these cancers at cancer incidence and death an earlier stage undoubtedly rates were attributed to prosaved lives. gress in prevention, screening Every effort to achieve our and treatment. North Dakota Cancer Control In another report, a trial from Plan objectives has a healthy the United Kingdom impact on our communities. demonstrated that screening There are many wonderful with one flexible sigmoidoideas about how to implement scopy reduced the incidence of the cancer plan. If we can colorectal cancer by one third translate those ideas into and related colorectal deaths strategies and effectively imby 40 percent in the group of plement them we can achieve people studied. our goals and surpass them. It is easy to forget the importance of effective implementation of screening. We can have Inside this Issue: Letter from the Chair 1 Radon Gas/Lung Cancer 2 Program Director Update 2 Sneak-a-Peak Award Recipients Addressing Access to Care CRC Awareness Month Save-the-Date Member Spotlight 4 Rollin Colon 4 NDCC Member Survey 5 Awareness Months January Cervical Cancer Awareness February National Cancer Prevention March Colorectal Cancer Awareness 1
Radon, a naturally occurring radioactive gas found at low levels in most soil, is produced in the soil when the element uranium starts to break down. The health effects of high radon levels were first seen in the increased cases of lung cancer found in underground uranium miners in the United States. These minerals are commonly found in coal deposits; and North Dakota has large reserves of coal. Therefore, homes in North Dakota are more likely to have elevated levels of radon. Exposure to radon occurs when the gas gets into a home and is inhaled. The radon gets into the lungs depositing itself in Tips to Reduce Radon Levels in Your Home 1. Ventilating basements as much as possible. - Open window to introduce fresh air and dilute radon levels. 2. During the winter months radon levels are highest due to the inability to ventilate due to cold weather. For this reason, it is recommended homes be tested during these months. 2. Obtain a radon test kit from local public health or at discount/hardware stores. Many health units provide the radon test kits free of charge and can also offer technical advice in reducing the radon levels in your home. the tissue. Eventually, the radon can lead to the development of lung cancer. The chance of developing lung cancer increases if a person living in a home with high radon levels smokes or is exposed to second-hand smoke. Radon makes its way into a home usually through cracks in concrete floors in the basement. As the radon gas works its way up under ground, it can get trapped under a basement floor until it finds a crack, then makes its way into the house. Sump pumps and crawl spaces are other places where radon can get into a building. Submitted by: Kevin Pavlish January always provides a new beginning for many things. A new beginning for the NDCC is the re-authorized cancer plan, which will be in effect from 2011 through 2016. We are oh so close to having a completed plan. The new photographs have been taken along with all cancer plan objectives, strategies and cancer plan narrative pieces complete. All of the cancer plan information is now in the hands of our graphic designer to organize the contents. You will see many similarities in the re-authorized plan as we are keeping a similar look and format of the plan. The re-authorized plan is a living plan. This will allow the coalition to keep the plan up to date with current data and revisions. With this said, hardcopy publications will not be bound; instead they will be in a ring binder. The plan will also be available electronically for those of you who are green. The plan will be published in April 2011 and will be distributed during the annual cancer summit on May 18, 2011. Thank you to everyone that provided input into the development of the re-authorized cancer plan. This process has certainly been a labor of hard work and passion for cancer prevention and control. We look forward to several years of use with our re-authorized plan. 2
February 18 Deadline to request Daffodils from ACS March 2-25 Dakota Conference on Rural and Public Health - Mandan, N.D. February-March-April Living Well Workshop Sanford Health - Fargo, N.D. March 21-25 Daffodil Days in the state of North Dakota April 8-9 ACS Annual Meeting North Dakota and South Dakota chapters - Fargo, N.D. May 18 NDCC annual summit - Seven Seas, Mandan, N.D. March Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month AND Dress in Blue Day March 4, 2011 Keep a look out for free print-ready materials for both campaigns at www.ndcancercoalition.org. Save-the-Date May 18, 2011 Seven Seas, Mandan N.D. NDCC Annual Meeting Application for contact hours has been made to Community Health Section, North Dakota Department of Health, an approved provider of continuing nursing education by CNE-Net, the education division of the North Dakota Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center s Commission on Accreditation. One hardship many cancer patients in North Dakota must deal with is the extensive travel that comes with the cancer diagnosis and follow-up. Physicians at the Bismarck Cancer Center recently established outreach clinics in hopes of lessening this burden for their patients receiving follow-up care for radiation therapy. The Bismarck Cancer Center serves patients within a 250-mile radius. Dr. John Watkins and Dr. Tarek Dufan, radiation oncologists with the Bismarck Cancer Center, are traveling to each location once per month to conduct office visits to help make appointments more convenient for their patients. Most of our patients come from outside the Bismarck area, as Radiation Oncologists we wanted to provide our oncology services locally in these three cities, decreasing the psychological burden associated with traveling while improving the quality of care for our patients, stated Dr. Dufan. When I walked into the clinic, all of the nurses knew me by first name. says Janet Erdmen. The doctors were wonderful and the shorter travel time was definitely a big plus. Patients will be seen at: Sanford Health in Fargo and Altru Health System in Grand Forks have been announced Commission on Cancer Outstanding Achievement Award Recipients. Congratulations! Minot Specialty Clinic, Minot - First Thursday of each month Submitted by: Tara Schilke Medcenter one Jamestown Clinic, Jamestown - Fourth Wednesday of each month Medcenter One Dickinson Clinic, Dickinson - Fourth Thursday of each month
Lorrie Thoemke Tell us a little bit about yourself? I am the Vice President of Operations at the YMCA of Cass and Clay Counties. I work with the program and membership services and have been at the YMCA for fifteen years. How long have you been a NDCC member? I have been a member of the NDCC for one year. I m excited to attend conferences and learn more about the organization. What interests do you have in cancer control? The YMCA has a recreational cancer reahabilitation program called Live STRONG at the YMCA. We started the program about two years ago and have found it to be extremely beneficial to all participants. What are your hobbies? I love to walk, scrapbook and read. If you could go on vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would go to Rome. I love history and old buildings! The Northern Plains Comprehensive Cancer control Program s (NPCCP) mission is to enhance and increase the quality of life and survivorship of cancer for American Indians in the Northern Plains by providing a forum for input, advocacy, education, collaboration, planning and action along the cancer continuum. NPCCCP developed the Northern Plains Cancer Coalition (NPCC). The NPCC is a group of individuals who have an interest in cancer control for the Northern Plains Tribal communities. This group of tribal and community stakeholders will work to achieve the goals of the NPCCCP in a manner that values the importance of traditional healing and medicine, embraces the spiritual components of life for many, and above all else respects individual, tribal and cultural differences. NPCCCP is excited to announce the Rollin Colon. This is an inflatable, educational and walk-through model that we take out to our tribal communities during health fairs and community events to create awareness and educate about colorectal cancer risks. If you would be interested in joining our coalition or having the Rollin Colon in your next event, contact the Northern Plains Comprehensive Cancer Control Program at 605.721.1922 or 1.800.745.466. Submitted by: Tinka Duran 4
North Dakota Cancer Coalition (NDCC) members have contributed yet again to the organization through their participation in the annual member survey. Members responding have increased from 47 in 2007-2008 to 126 in 2009-2010; with more than 70 organizations involved in Coalition activities. The information has been used to meet federal reporting requirements and for program development. It will be used by NDCC workgroups this year to guide their work and evaluate outcomes. Members may also use the information in their publications and grant proposals. If additional analysis would be helpful in specific areas, members may request that information. Successes achieved by members include: 1. Completing activities to meet NDCC priorities. 2. Policy development.. In-kind support. The most commonly implemented evidence-based strategies addressed tobacco use prevention. In the past two years tobacco policies were more likely to be completed; and were more likely completed in the school setting. However, members also reported working on policies on two other prevention areas including physical activity and nutrition. Policies were worked on at four levels including school, worksite, community and state level. Overall, the number of people who addressed priorities from past to present has increased. Last year the number of persons working on policies also increased in the school and worksite settings. Coalition implementation could not be accomplished without the in-kind support of our members. In 2009-2010 NDCC members reported approximately $729,000 in in-kind contributions! Members level of satisfaction has increased over the past three years, especially with new member orientation. Member s comments indicate that they appreciate the NDCC and wish they could be more active. With the revision of the North Dakota Cancer Control Plan we encourage all members that wish to become active to join a workgroup. Workgroups will lead the grassroots planning and implementation of cancer plan priorities. Submitted by: Pat Conway 5
Dr. John Leitch, M.D. NDCC Chair Sanford Health Fargo, N.D. Phone: 701.24.7599 John.leitch@sanfordhealth.com Dr. Douglas Berglund NDCC Past Chair Medcenter One Bismarck, N.D. Phone: 701.2.5295 dberglund@mohs.org Nancy Klatt NDCC Vice Chair Altru Health System Grand Forks, N.D. Phone: 701.780.1060 nklatt@altru.com Anita Hoffarth NDCC Secretary Reach Partners, Inc. Fargo, N.D. Phone: 701.271.8170 anita@reachpartnersinc.com Barb Groutt NDCC Treasurer North Dakota Health Care Review Minot, N.D. Phone: 701.852.421 bgroutt@ndqio.sdps.org For more information on the NDCC go to: www.ndcancercoalition.org Vision: A cancer-free future for North Dakota. Mission: Working together to reduce the incidence and impact of cancer for all North Dakotans. Contact: Candy Getz 701.28.206 You CAN make a difference! The North Dakota Cancer Coalition is a group of professional stakeholders working together with the common vision of a cancer free future for North Dakota. This vision will be accomplished through data-driven planning for prevention, screening, early detection and effective quality care management. The North Dakota Cancer Coalition represents many sectors of our North Dakota community including community-based organizations; health-care organizations; local, state and federal agencies; medical professional organizations; education; academia; research; voluntary organizations; survivors; health-care professionals; and others from across our unique state. Cancer affects every one of us, our friends, family members and coworkers. It will take all of us working together to reduce the threat of cancer in our lives. The hardest work lies ahead combining our state s talent, skill and resources to implement the North Dakota Cancer Control Plan. Take action by volunteering to assist with a local activity, volunteering to serve on a committee working to achieve a priority, and supporting community or statewide activities focused on cancer control. Working together, we can transform the vision of a cancer-free North Dakota into a reality! Comments/Questions: Contact: Dubi Schwanz Phone: 701.28.046 Fax: 701.28.206 E-mail: dschwanz@nd.gov