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education Great Lakes Division leads consortiums with statewide cancer control plans The Indiana Cancer Consortium and the Michigan Cancer Consortium are coalitions of organizations, including the American Cancer Society, working in their respective states to fight cancer. By forming an organization of organizations, both groups realize the positive impact that teamwork can have to further their goals. Each has a plan with priorities based on what can be addressed in the upcoming years to reduce their greatest cancer threats.  The Indiana Cancer Consortium (ICC) began in 2001. The American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division, serves as one of the 72 member organizations and provides financial and staff support. The consortium is driven by the Indiana Cancer Control Plan 2005--2008, which focuses on prevention, early detection, treatment, quality of life, data, and advocacy.
"One of the things that I have been impressed with over the years is the interest people show in the consortium and the continuing dedication people have shown," said Anna Miller, the American Cancer Society’s director of cancer control in Indiana who works with the ICC. "We have moved very rapidly from a dream to having a cancer control plan." Approximately two years after its first meeting, the consortium was given a planning grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and these funds help them implement their plan. To get its feet off the ground the ICC had help from the Michigan Cancer Consortium (MCC), which started in 1987. (View the Michigan Cancer Consortium video, Building Bridges as a QuickTime movie or as a Windows Media video.) Their statewide cancer plan is called The MCC Initiative Strategic Plan. Comprised of 80 member organizations, the MCC’s plan focuses on ten priorities, including cancer sites (such as breast, colon, lung, etc.), end of life care, and clinical trial participation. Both consortiums are broken into committees to focus specifically on each aspect of their cancer control plans. "The way to make a difference in cancer is by having member organizations do things in their own communities," said Anna. Gary McMullen, the MCC’s chair of the communications committee and vice president of communication and public relations for the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division, agrees. When consortium members carry the cancer plans back to their own communities and organizations, it can be more effective by reaching a larger group of people. "It’s a roadmap, a blueprint that everyone can utilize in their own plan," he explained. In 2006, the MCC received the first Comprehensive Cancer Control Implementation Award from C-Change (shown above), an organization of national leaders fighting cancer. The award was presented by President George H.W. Bush, C-Change’s chair. Both the ICC and MCC have an amazing task in fighting cancer, and both are always looking for more member support from organizations in their state. "There are so many things that need to be done," said Vicki Rakowski, co-chair of the MCC and vice president for cancer control of the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division. To learn more about the Michigan Cancer Consortium, visit www.michigancancer.org. The Indiana Cancer Consortium's website is currently under construction, but can be viewed at www.indianacancer.org in the future. | |
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