What You Can Do
The overall success of the Texas Cancer Plan (Plan) depends on the cooperation, collaboration and resources of stakeholders across the state. Every Texan has the opportunity to reduce the burden of cancer in their community.
Below are examples of actions that Texans can take to accomplish the goals presented in the Plan.
If you are a health system
- Ensure that your cancer cases are reported in a timely way
- Provide meeting space to host community cancer support group
- Collaborate to sponsor evidence-based community screening programs
- Acquire or maintain American College of Surgeons (ACoS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) accreditation
- Educate health care professionals and the public about genetics and cancer risk
If you are a local health department
- Promote effective cancer prevention policy, systems, and environmental changes
- Implement and enforce a tobacco-free campus
- Provide cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle education
- Collaborate with communities to support changes in the built environment, including walkability
- Support evidence-based cancer screening and early detection efforts
- Encourage HPV vaccination among adolescents and young adults
- Educate health care professionals and the public about genetics and cancer risk
- Provide meeting space to host community survivor support groups
If you are a community-based organization
- Provide cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle information to constituents
- Promote evidence-based smoking cessation programs
- Partner with advocacy groups to support tobacco control policies
- Promote evidence-based cancer screening among clients
- Encourage participation in clinical trials
- Collaborate to provide community cancer prevention and screening programs
If you are an employer
- Become CEO Cancer Gold Standard Certified™
- Provide healthy foods in vending machines and cafeterias
- Encourage employees to increase physical activity
- Collaborate with hospitals to host screening events
If you are a school/university
- Include cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle messages in classes
- Provide healthy foods in vending machines and cafeterias
- Increase physical education requirements
- Make your entire campus a tobacco-free environment
- Provide smoking cessation resources for faculty, staff, and students
If you are a faith-based organization
- Provide cancer prevention information to members
- Learn how to provide healthy potlucks and meeting meals
- Open your building to support healthy lifestyle activities
- Encourage members to get cancer screening tests on time
If you are a health care professional
- Make sure patients get appropriate evidence-based cancer screening tests
- Refer patients to smoking cessation classes, tobacco quitline, and nutrition programs
- Be sure your cancer cases are reported in a timely way
- Collect cancer family history from patients and provide referrals to genetic counseling
- Find out how to enroll patients in clinical trials
- Make earlier referrals to hospice for end-of-life care
If you are a Community Health Worker, Navigator, or a Promotora
- Provide cancer prevention and healthy lifestyle information to constituents
- Promote evidence-based cancer screening among clients
- Encourage participation in clinical trials
- Collaborate to provide community cancer prevention and screening programs
If you are a Texan
- Stop tobacco use or never start
- Support tobacco-free policies and legislation
- Eat more fruits and vegetables and maintain a healthy weight
- Increase your daily physical activity
- Know when to be screened and do it on schedule
- Know your family health history, including any family history of cancer
- If diagnosed with cancer, consider enrolling in a clinical trial
- Show your support and care for those who are diagnosed
- Volunteer with your hospital, health department, faith community, or local American Cancer Society (ACS)