What is the Texas Cancer Plan?
The Texas Cancer Plan (Plan) is our state’s call to action
for cancer research, prevention, and control. The Plan identifies the challenges and issues that affect our state, as
well as goals, objectives, and strategies to help inform and guide communities
in the fight against cancer. The first edition of the Plan was released in 1986, making Texas one of the first states to
have 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 and
tribal organizations have produced their own cancer plans.
By state statute, the Cancer Prevention and Research
Institute of Texas (CPRIT) is charged with facilitating the development of
the Plan. The first plan
developed under CPRIT’s leadership was released in 2012. The Cancer Alliance
of Texas (CAT), our state comprehensive cancer control coalition, assists
with development and promotion of the Plan.
The overall outcome and success of the Plan
depends on the cooperation, collaboration, and resources of many stakeholders
across the state.
The most current version of the Plan was developed in 2018.
Priority Areas and Goals
The Texas Cancer Plan
includes five priority areas and sixteen goals.
Priority Areas
The five priority areas for the 2018 Plan were selected based upon review of progress and challenges
since 2012, cancer trends, and health disparities. They align with
evidence-based strategies that, if implemented in systematic and comprehensive
ways, will have a significant impact on the human and economic cancer burden in
Texas. They include:
- Decrease tobacco and electronic vapor product
use and exposure to secondhand smoke
- Increase vaccination rates for HPV and Hepatitis
B
- Reduce cancer risk by increasing healthy
lifestyles
- Reduce cancer health disparities
- Increase cancer survivor supportive care
Goals
The 16 goals of the Plan,
listed by strategy, include:
Primary Prevention and
Risk Reduction: Promoting change in behavior, policy, environment, or other
systems to prevent or reduce the risk of developing cancer
- Goal 1: Eliminate tobacco use to reduce new
cases and deaths from tobacco-related cancers
- Goal 2: Increase adoption of healthy behaviors
to reduce new cases and deaths from cancers related to nutrition, physical
activity, and obesity
- Goal 3: Increase skin protection behaviors to
reduce new cases and deaths from melanoma
- Goal 4: Reduce the risk of cancers related to
environmental carcinogens
- Goal 5: Increase vaccination rates for vaccines
shown to reduce the risk of cancer
Screening and Early
Detection: Increasing risk-appropriate, evidence-based and timely screening
services to detect pre-cancerous changes or cancers as early as possible, when
treatment is more likely to be successful
- Goal 6: Increase screening and early detection
to increase the number of cancers diagnosed at an early stage and reduce deaths
from breast cancer
- Goal 7: Increase screening and early detection
to reduce the number of new cases and deaths from cervical cancer
- Goal 8: Increase screening and early detection
to reduce the number of new cases and deaths from colorectal cancer
- Goal 9: Increase screening and early detection
among Texans at high risk for lung cancer to increase the number of cancers
diagnosed at an early stage and reduce deaths from lung cancer
- Goal 10: Increase screening and treatment for
Texans at high risk for Hepatitis B and C infections to reduce new cases and
deaths from liver cancer
- Goal 11: Develop and implement screening and
early detection methods for other cancers
Diagnosis, Treatment,
and Palliation – Ensuring that all patients receive timely and effective
diagnostics, treatment, and supportive care
- Goal 12: Increase timely access to quality
cancer diagnostic, treatment, and palliation services for all Texans
Quality of Life and
Survivorship – Improving the health and well-being of cancer survivors, from
the point of diagnosis throughout treatment, and beyond
- Goal 13: Promote overall health and well-being
of people affected by cancer
Infrastructure –
Developing and strengthening a sustainable framework to support delivery of the
most appropriate prevention and care services and policy, systems, and
environmental changes
- Goal 14: Strengthen the public health and
clinical health care system infrastructure by supporting the delivery of the
most appropriate evidence-based cancer prevention interventions and clinical
care services.
Academic Research and
Product Development Research – Accelerating the discovery, development, and
dissemination of innovation in cancer prevention and treatment that holds the
potential to reduce the burden of cancer
- Goal 15: Support the highest quality and most
innovative research, including clinical trials, that will enhance the potential
for medical or scientific breakthroughs in cancer
- Goal 16: Improve patient care by accelerating
the movement of prevention interventions, therapeutics, diagnostics and
technologies into practice
What You Can Do
The overall success of the 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. Visit our What You Can Do page
to see examples of what you can do to implement the Plan.
Our Coalition
CAT, our state cancer coalition, works collaboratively to
promote and implement the Plan
through quarterly meetings, priority area workgroups, and more. Anyone
interested in CAT can fill out a membership application and submit it via email
to Amanda Ivarra.
Cancer
Plan Dashboard
Our Texas Cancer Plan dashboard tracks our progress towards the targets we set in 2018.