Texas Cancer Plan
What is the Texas Cancer Plan?
The Texas Cancer Plan (Plan) is our state’s call to actionfor cancer research, prevention, and control. The Plan identifies the challenges and issues that affect our state, aswell as goals, objectives, and strategies to help inform and guide communitiesin the fight against cancer. The first edition of the Plan was released in 1986, making Texas one of the first states tohave a state cancer plan. As of today, all 50 states, the District of Columbia,six U.S. Pacific Island jurisdictions and Puerto Rico, and eight tribes andtribal organizations have produced their own cancer plans.
By state statute, the Cancer Prevention and ResearchInstitute of Texas (CPRIT) is charged with facilitating the development ofthe Plan. The first plandeveloped under CPRIT’s leadership was released in 2012. The Cancer Allianceof Texas (CAT), our state comprehensive cancer control coalition, assistswith development and promotion of the Plan.The overall outcome and success of the Plandepends on the cooperation, collaboration, and resources of many stakeholdersacross the state.
The most current version of the Plan was developed in 2018.
Priority Areas and Goals
The Texas Cancer Planincludes five priority areas and sixteen goals.
Priority Areas
The five priority areas for the 2018 Plan were selected based upon review of progress and challengessince 2012, cancer trends, and health disparities. They align withevidence-based strategies that, if implemented in systematic and comprehensiveways, will have a significant impact on the human and economic cancer burden inTexas. They include:
- Decrease tobacco and electronic vapor productuse and exposure to secondhand smoke
- Increase vaccination rates for HPV and HepatitisB
- Reduce cancer risk by increasing healthylifestyles
- Reduce cancer health disparities
- Increase cancer survivor supportive care
Goals
The 16 goals of the Plan,listed by strategy, include:
Primary Prevention andRisk Reduction: Promoting change in behavior, policy, environment, or othersystems to prevent or reduce the risk of developing cancer
- Goal 1: Eliminate tobacco use to reduce newcases and deaths from tobacco-related cancers
- Goal 2: Increase adoption of healthy behaviorsto reduce new cases and deaths from cancers related to nutrition, physicalactivity, and obesity
- Goal 3: Increase skin protection behaviors toreduce new cases and deaths from melanoma
- Goal 4: Reduce the risk of cancers related toenvironmental carcinogens
- Goal 5: Increase vaccination rates for vaccinesshown to reduce the risk of cancer
Screening and EarlyDetection: Increasing risk-appropriate, evidence-based and timely screeningservices to detect pre-cancerous changes or cancers as early as possible, whentreatment is more likely to be successful
- Goal 6: Increase screening and early detectionto increase the number of cancers diagnosed at an early stage and reduce deathsfrom breast cancer
- Goal 7: Increase screening and early detectionto reduce the number of new cases and deaths from cervical cancer
- Goal 8: Increase screening and early detectionto reduce the number of new cases and deaths from colorectal cancer
- Goal 9: Increase screening and early detectionamong Texans at high risk for lung cancer to increase the number of cancersdiagnosed at an early stage and reduce deaths from lung cancer
- Goal 10: Increase screening and treatment forTexans at high risk for Hepatitis B and C infections to reduce new cases anddeaths from liver cancer
- Goal 11: Develop and implement screening andearly detection methods for other cancers
Diagnosis, Treatment,and Palliation – Ensuring that all patients receive timely and effectivediagnostics, treatment, and supportive care
- Goal 12: Increase timely access to qualitycancer diagnostic, treatment, and palliation services for all Texans
Quality of Life andSurvivorship – Improving the health and well-being of cancer survivors, fromthe point of diagnosis throughout treatment, and beyond
- Goal 13: Promote overall health and well-beingof people affected by cancer
Infrastructure –Developing and strengthening a sustainable framework to support delivery of themost appropriate prevention and care services and policy, systems, andenvironmental changes
- Goal 14: Strengthen the public health andclinical health care system infrastructure by supporting the delivery of themost appropriate evidence-based cancer prevention interventions and clinicalcare services.
Academic Research andProduct Development Research – Accelerating the discovery, development, anddissemination of innovation in cancer prevention and treatment that holds thepotential to reduce the burden of cancer
- Goal 15: Support the highest quality and mostinnovative research, including clinical trials, that will enhance the potentialfor medical or scientific breakthroughs in cancer
- Goal 16: Improve patient care by acceleratingthe movement of prevention interventions, therapeutics, diagnostics andtechnologies into practice
What You Can Do
The overall success of the Plan depends on the cooperation, collaboration, and resources ofstakeholders across the state. Every Texan has the opportunity to reduce theburden of cancer in their community. Visit our What You Can Do pageto see examples of what you can do to implement the Plan.
Our Coalition
CAT, our state cancer coalition, works collaboratively topromote and implement the Planthrough quarterly meetings, priority area workgroups, and more. Anyoneinterested in CAT can fill out a membership application and submit it via emailto Amanda Ivarra.
CancerPlan Dashboard
Our Texas Cancer Plan dashboard tracks our progress towards the targets we set in 2018.