REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON CANCER
CM-C Report 1-A-07
Subject: Activities in Cancer Screening and Education
Presented by: Cynthia A. Jumper, MD, Chair
Coordination of Cancer-Related Activities
The committee continues to monitor statewide activities and guide association efforts on cancer prevention, screening, treatment, and related issues. Educational efforts are coordinated through TMA's Physician Oncology Education Program (POEP) and include statewide and regional symposia and programs on cancer issues of interest to primary care physicians. The committee also reviews the progress of other cancer-related organizations in the state, such as the Texas Cancer Council (TCC), The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the Department of State Health Services, the American Cancer Society, the Texas Cancer Registry, and the Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition. The committee also reviews the applications of recently passed cancer legislation and proposed new legislation. The committee supports the American Cancer Society - Texas Cancer Pain Initiative in developing a consensus document relevant to the Texas Pain Summit that took take place on Aug. 25, 2006. This summit fostered dialogue between healthcare professionals and the state's regulatory and licensing bodies in an effort to promote a balanced regulatory system in which the prevention of prescription drug diversion and abuse does not interfere with good pain treatment.
Physician Oncology Education Program
TMA received approximately $289,000 in funding for fiscal year 2007 for the POEP through the TCC, a state agency devoted to promoting and supporting cancer control efforts for Texas. As part of the fiscal year 2007 contract with TCC, POEP is coordinating efforts to offer more rural programs through POEP Speakers' Bureau in an attempt to go where physicians need cancer resources and assistance. The program collaborates with various cancer entities such as the Intercultural Cancer Council to distribute materials specific to the diverse population in Texas.
Committee members discussed the ninth annual "Cancer-What Primary Care Physicians Need to Know" symposium to be held at TexMed 2007. This program will cover breast cancer screening, skin cancer, pain - improving the Texas scorecard, colorectal cancer screening and a gynecological update: the HPV vaccine.
Outreach Efforts
The Committee on Cancer discussed efforts to reach primary care physicians and how to make every physician's office a cancer detection and prevention center. Upcoming opportunities include involvement in or exhibits at the Texas Osteopathic Medical Association, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, Texas Pediatrics Society, and the ACS - Texas Cancer Pain Initiative.
Cancer Tools
The committee reminds physicians that the C-Tools v2.0 is available for downloading. This has been a combined effort of the Committee on Cancer, American Cancer Society, and Physician Oncology Education Program, as well as other professional health care providers. The download is FREE and is available through the POEP Web or through the ACS.
TMA House of Delegates: TexMed 2007