Cancer Control and Prevention

Last year President Obama declared April to be Cancer Control Month.  His statement recognized the links between many behaviors and cancer, including smoking, diet and physical inactivity.  The National Cancer Institute has many resources you can employ to “encourage healthy lifestyles, promote cancer screening, increase access to quality cancer care, and improve quality of life for cancer survivors”—the basis of cancer control.  Take a look—there’s probably some good ideas for programs you can develop for your community.

The Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program is a coalition of several public and non-profit agencies dedicated to reducing smoking.  They’ve developed a number of resources and provide links from their webpage to other organization’s resources.  Again, a good place to look for project ideas.

I often post about grant opportunities for wellness programs or projects to increase physical activity opportunities.  To find them, just click Grant Opportunities in the tag list below, or search for a specific topic in the Search area at the top of the page.  Here are a couple grants that specifically target cancer prevention and awareness projects.

Check out the Jenny Jones Foundation.  The Jenny’s Heroes program gives small grants (usually less than $10,000) for projects that benefit your community.  Take a look at some of the programs they’ve funded—EMS equipment, cancer awareness, playground equipment.  There doesn’t appear to be any deadline.  Another source of grants for playground equipment and other physical activity-promoting projects is the Coca Cola Foundation, as I mentioned in a post a couple weeks ago.  Again, no deadlines.

The William Randolph Hearst Foundation awards funds to improve access to quality health care for underserved populations, including rural.  They have several areas of interest, including cancer control.  From their webpage, it looks like they award primarily to regional hospitals.  Consider collaborating with a hospital or coalition of hospitals in your area.  They have awarded grants to cancer prevention projects.  No deadline.

Here are some activities and learning opportunities related to cancer control and prevention.  I decided to include a few walk/runs and other outdoor activities.  I ran my first 5k last year and it was a great sense of accomplishment.  You can get a good work out for a good cause!

May 1: Pardeeville High School Cancer Run/Walk

June 12: Jodi Lou Lung Cancer 5K Run/Walk in Fitchburg

June 12: Ride for Research in Wabeno; a dual-sport motorcycle ride for cancer research

June 19: Block The Sun Run 5K Race/3K Walk in Wisconsin Dells for melanoma research

 UW Health is holding a free workshop (lunch included!) on May 1 in Madison.  Brain Tumors: Advances and Updates is an opportunity for people with brain tumors, their families and caregivers to find out about new treatment options, research and techniques to cope with symptoms.

The Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Summit & Survivorship Forum is June 3, also in Madison.  Activities include the announcement of the Cancer Control plan for 2010-15, workshops on the use of social marketing in cancer prevention, the community health worker model and other topics, including a survivor’s forum.

The UW School of Medicine and Public Health’s Innovations in Medical Education (IME) video library has dozens of videos on just about any medial topic you can think of.  I did a search on “cancer” and found over 50 videos, ranging from academic research reports to personal stories of cancer patients.

April 15, 2010 · KJacobson · No Comments
Tags: , , ,  · Posted in: Conferences and Webinars, Grant Advice

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