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education Statewide cancer report is available to all Hoosiers Before 2003, residents of Indiana never had a source for compiled updated cancer data for their state. To solve this problem, the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division, the Indiana Cancer Consortium, and the Indiana State Department of Health partnered to create Indiana Cancer Facts and Figures 2003. With the numbers printed out for all Hoosiers to see, the report offers facts about the impact of cancer in local areas and shows that cancer is something everyone should be concerned about. 
The publication offers answers to common questions about cancer; the incidence and mortality rates, which are numbers of newly diagnosed cancers and cancer deaths, in each county compared to statewide rates; and information for each cancer type, including prevention, signs and symptoms, risk factors, and how it is affecting Hoosiers. The report also captures current trends in cancer and how they are expected to impact Indiana in the future.
The information for the report was made available because of significant progress to the Indiana State Cancer Registry. The Indiana State Department of Health improved the state’s cancer registry, which tracks diagnoses, through additional staff and financial resources. "It was a really nice sense of accomplishment that we had produced a document that had a nice comprehensive summary of the data," said Martha Graves, director of the Indiana State Cancer Registry. Now that Hoosiers have a source for their cancer information, it is being used in many different ways. The Indiana Cancer Consortium, a coalition of organizations in the state working together, helped produce the report as the groundwork to creating The Indiana Cancer Control Plan, a map to how Indiana can best fight cancer. Hospitals also use the information to compare their cancer program information to statewide data. The general public is also welcome to use the report and learn more about the impact of cancer in their local areas. "It’s raised awareness," said Lesley Dufner, epidemiologist for the Society’s Great Lakes Division. The same organizations involved with the 2003 report are currently partnering again to create Indiana Cancer Facts and Figures 2006, which will be published in August. Call 800-ACS-2345 to request a copy. The Indiana Cancer Consortium's website, www.indianacancer.org (currently under construction), is another source to find the 2003 edition in the meantime. Michigan residents can look for their state’s information on www.michigan.gov/mdch. | |
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