Tennessee Cancer Coalition Issues "Passport to the Future"
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 | 05:10am
Fifth Annual Summit on Burden of Cancer in TN April 23-24 at Meharry Medical Center
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition will hold its Fifth Annual Summit on the Burden of Cancer in Tennessee April 23 and 24 at Meharry Medical College in Nashville. The theme this year is “Passport to the Future: A Cancer-Free Tennessee."
“We know the devastating toll cancer takes on people in our state, and we are dedicated to reducing this burden,” said Debra Wujcik, RN, Ph.D., chairwoman of the Coalition. “This event gives us an opportunity to combine resources and share ideas to help us reach the goal of making Tennessee cancer-free.”
Cancer is a leading cause of death and illness in Tennessee. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2005 annual report, which was just released in March, ranks Tennessee 20th in the country for new cases of cancer, with a rate of 468 cases per 100,000 people. New cancer rates are higher in Tennessee men, at 560 cases per 100,000 population, than for women at 406 cases per 100,000. The most common cancers in Tennessee men are prostate, lung and colorectal cancers. For women in Tennessee, breast, lung and colorectal cancers top the list.
While Tennessee’s new cancer case rates are higher than national averages, the death rates are almost the highest in the country. Tennessee ranks third highest for cancer death with a rate of 209 per 100,000 people, compared to 189 deaths per 100,000 people in the United States. Death rates among men in the state are 17 percent higher than national rates; for cancer deaths among women, Tennessee is 11 percent above the national rate. Cancer death rates among African Americans are shockingly higher than that of their white counterparts: 60 percent higher for women’s breast cancer, and 300 percent higher for prostate cancer.
Participants in the 2009 Summit will work to answer questions such as why Tennessee ranks so high in cancer rates, why so many Tennesseans die from cancer, and what is being done to improve these rates. Tennessee Health Commissioner Susan R. Cooper, MSN, RN, will give welcoming remarks. The Summit begins Thursday, April 23, with an overview of cancer in Tennessee today by Jennifer Pietenpol, Ph.D.,director of Nashville’s Vanderbilt-IngramCancerCenter. Other speakers will discuss the importance and future of cancer registries, targeted therapies in breast cancer treatments and genetic counseling services, surviving the cure, accessing cancer resources on the Internet and more.
Lovell Jones, Ph.D., professor for the Department of Health Disparity Research and researcher for the Division of Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, will be one of the keynote speakers. Jones is the founding co-chair of the Intercultural Cancer Council, the nation’s largest multicultural health policy group focused on minorities, the medically underserved and cancer. He has edited "Minorities & Cancer," one of the few comprehensive textbooks on this subject, and is founding chair of "Minorities, the Medically Underserved and Cancer," the nation’s largest multicultural conference.
Registration for the two-day summit is $50. Continuing medical education and continuing education unit credits are available. For program information and/or registration, visit
http://www.mmc.edu/cancer_burdens/index.html. A limited number of registration scholarships are available. Contact Trudy Stein-Hart at (615) 741-1638 or toll free at 1-800-547-3558, or e-mail her at Trudy.Stein-Hart@tn.gov for scholarship information.
The Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition is a group of more than 450 individuals from more than 70 organizations and institutions charged with raising awareness of cancer and reducing the burden of the disease on the citizens of Tennessee. Program goals include lowering the number of cancer cases by providing clear and effective prevention efforts, detecting cancer in earlier stages when successful treatment is more likely, and making quality treatment more accessible and equitable. To this aim, TC4 recently released the “State of Tennessee Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan 2009-2012,” which is available online at http://health.state.tn.us/CCCP/documents.htm.
The Coalition is actively recruiting members for all regional chapters. For more information about joining TC4 or about the Summit, visit the Department of Health Web site at http://health.state.tn.us/CCCP/index.htm or contact Stein-Hart.