Because there are many avenues for affecting policy change at the state level, cancer control coalitions are critically important as they bring various stakeholders to the table, including experts on cancer such as health departments, community organizations, researchers, health care providers, decision makers, and cancer survivors and their families. These stakeholders come together to address cancer concerns in their communities. The comprehensive cancer control coalitions are an excellent way to get involved in state-based advocacy efforts.
Because state and local lawmakers live in the communities in which they work year-round, it’s often easier to meet with them or get them on the phone. Developing relationships with staffers and lawmakers at the local level is a key part of state-based advocacy. While there is much work to be done at the national level to improve cancer care, cancer burdens and strategies vary from state to state. For this reason, it is critical that community leaders and patient advocates work to address the specific issues regarding cancer in their state.
A major function of CCCs in convening stakeholders is to develop a cancer control plan that focuses on the cancer issues unique to their state (or regions within their state)—these coalitions are the backbone of comprehensive cancer control. By becoming involved in your state’s cancer coalition, you can help ease the burden of cancer and engage in strategies to help prevent and control cancer in your community. As a national partner of the NCCCP, NCCS is here to assist advocates in partnering with their state coalitions and supporting cancer coalitions as they develop and carry out their comprehensive cancer control plans.
