Missouri health officials and advocates released the newly revised Missouri Cancer Action Plan that will be used for Missourians to use as a guide for cancer control and prevention work across the state through 2025. The Missouri Cancer Consortium published the report in collaboration with the Missouri Comprehensive Cancer Program, which is part of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.
The mission of the Missouri Cancer Consortium is to reduce the human and economic burden of cancer on Missourians. The Missouri Comprehensive Cancer Program works closely with statewide partners through the consortium to prevent cancer, find cancer early, reduce cancer risks and improve treatment and the quality of life for survivors.
“The MCC is excited to continue working with State partners and organizations to enhance partnerships and collaborations to implement the goals of the state’s Cancer Action Plan through workgroups and committees,” said MCC Chair Lindsey Haslag.
The Missouri Cancer Action Plan reflects the consortium’s priorities to reduce the human and economic burden of cancer on Missourians through the promotion of collaborative, innovative, and effective programs and policies while placing health equity and elimination of racial bias and discrimination at the forefront of all activities, including planning, coalition-building, service delivery, community mobilization, and policy advocacy.
The report states, “For the over 500,000 adult cancer survivors living in Missouri, access to resources and supports that address physical, emotional, social, spiritual and financial challenges due to a cancer diagnosis and treatment is critical to long-term recovery and quality of life.”
While the Missouri Cancer Action Plan addresses all cancer types, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Governor Mike Parson has ordered the Missouri State Capitol dome to shine pink on Friday, Oct. 21. This dome lighting is in recognition of breast cancer survivors, those who have lost their lives to breast cancer, those currently seeking treatment for breast cancer, the medical researchers and physicians, and the advocates and health planners focused on breast cancer control, providing resources and working toward treatment improvements.
“We all likely know someone in our lives who have had to face a terrible breast cancer diagnosis,” Governor Mike Parson said. “We light the Capitol pink to recognize our many Missourians affected by breast cancer and those providing support and resources to cancer patients and those working to find a cure.”
One in every three diagnoses of cancer in women is breast cancer, and it is the second leading cause of death in women. Missouri has a higher incidence of breast cancer than the United States as a whole.
Several DHSS programs including the Missouri Comprehensive Cancer Program, Show Me Healthy Women, Well-Integrated Screening and Evaluation for Women Across the Nation (WISEWOMAN), Office of Women’s Health, and the Office of Minority Health and Health Equity have collaborated to raise awareness of breast cancer internally and through public outreach efforts.
