Early Detection & Screening (EDS)

Linda Fleisher, MPH, Director, Health Communications and Public Health Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center – Team Co-Chair
Gene Lengerich, VDM, MS, Associate Professor, Penn State University – Team Co-Chair

Thank you to members of the PAC³ Early Detection and Screening Implementation Team who joined the conference call held on Wednesday, November 12.

This call contained important information regarding the current and future direction of PAC³ implementation efforts and provided an opportunity for all team members to discuss next steps.

We followed the below agenda during the call:

Planning for the Future: PAC³ Implementation and Q&A (Kathy Stadler)
Review of EDS Team Discussion from 10/21/08 Meeting (Gene Lengerich and Linda Fleisher, Team Co-Chairs)
Discuss Next Steps (All Team members)
Identify Responsibilities/Leadership (Facilitated by Gene Lengerich and Linda Fleisher, Team Co-Chairs)
Participate in PAC³ Community Interest Survey (Kathy Stadler)

Materials referenced during the call are below, as well as minutes from the call. If you need anything in addition to these materials or have any questions, please contact the PAC³ Coordinating Office at 412-623-0033 or pac3@upmc.edu

View Minutes from the November 12, 2008 EDS Team Conference Call
View the PowerPoint Slides

Previous EDS Team Meetings and Materials

October 21, 2008: Wyndham Garden Hotel Harrisburg/Hershey – View Minutes
June 12, 2008: The Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Harrisburg, PA – View Minutes
February 29, 2008: Wyndham Garden Hotel Harrisburg/Hershey – View Minutes
November 8, 2007: Conference Call – View Minutes
October 3, 2007: The Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Harrisburg, PA – View Minutes
March 29, 2007: Toftrees Resort & Conference Center, State College, PA – View Minutes
January 19, 2007: Conference Call – View Minutes
January 9, 2007: Conference Call to Discuss Colorectal Cancer Education Initiative – View Minutes
November 29, 2006: The Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Harrisburg, PA – View Minutes
September 29, 2006: Penn Stater Conference Center & Hotel, State College, PA – View Minutes
May 18, 2006: Crowne Plaza Hotel, Harrisburg, PA – View Minutes
March 21, 2006: Conference Call – View Minutes
February 10, 2006: Wyndham Harrisburg-Hershey – View Minutes
September 9, 2005: Holiday Inn Hotel & Conference Center, Harrisburg, PA
May 13, 2005: Holiday Inn East, Harrisburg, PA – View Minutes

Cancer screening and diagnostic follow up can find conditions that can lead to cancer, and early stage cancer. As a result, cancer prevention and cure are substantially increased.

To achieve the benefits of proven methods for cancer screening and to assure their careful consideration by citizens, we must provide information and guidance in decision-making about screening services to the public, to populations at increased risk for cancer, and to primary care physicians and health professionals. In addition, proven methods of cancer screening must be made readily accessible and available. Health care providers must also be encouraged to provide patients with information about cancer screening services and to systematically integrate established screening guidelines into standard care. Further, state-of-the-art methods for increasing screening service awareness and for maximizing utilization must be identified and disseminated across the Commonwealth. Finally, screening-related disparities (race/ethnicity, socioeconomic, geographic) must be identified and eliminated. Making cancer screening services readily available and accessible to all Pennsylvanians is essential for reducing high rates of cancer and cancer deaths in the Commonwealth.

EDS Team Initiatives

Distribution of criteria to community organizations to make decisions about level of evidence-based/evidence-informed interventions – Click Here for More Information
Development of strategic document summarizing Colorectal Cancer (CRC) screening best practices.
Creation of an adoption-diffusion collaborative campaign for CRC screening interventions (seeking funding).

Useful Websites

Colorectal Cancer Test Use – Maryland, 2002-2006 – Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report– September 14, 2006. The Maryland Cancer Survey results indicate that the percentage of Maryland residents ages 50 years and over, who reported ever being tested for CRC increased by 6.1 percentage points from 2002 to 2006. Extrapolated to the state population of the same age range, this finding translates into an estimated 90,000 previously untested Maryland residents who received CRC testing during that period.

PAC³ will be updating this list as often as possible. Should there be any other informational resources that make strides in achieving PAC³'s priority goal to Provide all Pennsylvanians with access to high-quality, accurate, and current information based on individual and population factors for all aspects of cancer, from prevention to end-of-life care, please contact the PAC³ Coordinating Office to inquire about listing that resource on the PAC³ website.

"Together ... Making our Vision a Reality"