TOWN HALL MEETING

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• We need more research on palliative care and end-of-life issues.

Globally, an estimated 22.4 million people are living with a history of cancer, with more than 10.5 million cancer survivors in the United States.  The field of palliative care, once largely confined to providing comfort to the dying, has broadened to include the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual aspects of coping with cancer over the entire continuum of cancer care.  This change in perspective is due in part to medical advances that have resulted in more people experiencing cancer as a chronic disease.

Research on palliative care and end-of-life issues is supported by the NCI Division of Cancer Prevention:  See www.cancer.gov/prevention/coptrg/supportivecare/index.html.

Please view www.cancer.gov/newscenter/benchmarks-vol3-issue4/page1.

NCI’s Physician Data Query (PDQ) series provides descriptions of the pathophysiology and treatment of common physical and psychosocial complications of cancer and its therapies.  The series also includes PDQs on nutritional and emotional concerns, late-term effects, survivorship, and end-of-life issues.

Please view www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/coping/.

• More research is needed on prevention (not just early detection).

Scientists estimate that as many as 50 percent to 75 percent of cancer deaths in the United States are caused by human behaviors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and poor dietary choices.  The following behaviors or changes in behavior can help prevent cancer:

• Not using cigarettes or other tobacco products.
  • Age at smoking initiation
  • Youth smoking
  • Adult smoking
  • Quitting smoking
  • Doctors’ and dentists’ advice to quit smoking
• Not drinking too much alcohol.
• Eating five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables.
• Eating a moderate-fat diet.
• Consuming a diet in which total calories eaten are balanced with calories expended in physical activity.
• Maintaining or reaching a healthy weight.
• Being physically active.
• Protecting skin from sunlight.

NCI has an entire Division focused on prevention.  Please visit the Division of Cancer Prevention (DCP) Web site at http://www.cancer.gov/prevention. NCI has a division with an entire program focused on behavioral science.  Please visit the Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences (DCCPS) Web site at http://www.cancercontrol.cancer.gov.

In The Nation’s Investment in Cancer Research:  A Plan and Budget Proposal for FY 2006, strategic investments were made in cancer prevention, early detection, and prediction.  The goals are to substantially reduce the incidence of cancer, to integrate early detection with markers of prognosis through the development and effective delivery of medical approaches to prevention and early detection, and to promote effective, evidence-based public health interventions and policies.

Newly aligned goals focused on preventing cancer and detecting it early when it is most curable are at the heart of our nation’s research and public health agendas.  Dramatic developments in technology and a more complete understanding of the causes and mechanisms of cancer will enable NCI to provide more effective ways to prevent the disease.  New evidence-based interventions encourage lifestyle improvements in diet and physical activity, discourage smoking, and promote the use of safe and fully tested chemoprevention approaches for people at risk.  Pioneering proteomic and biomarker advances and the promise of nanotechnology give new hope for the early detection and diagnosis of cancer and prediction of patient response to treatment.  Advanced information systems and methods of evaluation will maximize the impact of existing technologies.  NCI is ramping up specimen repositories and widely accessible bioinformatics resources to support the development of these breakthroughs.

Please view http://plan2006.cancer.gov/prevention.shtml.

To view the Cancer Trends Progress Report, see http://progressreport.cancer.gov/doc.asp?pid=1&did=2005&mid=vcol&chid=21.

To view recent developments in cancer prevention, see http://www.cancer.gov/clinicaltrials/ct-types-list.

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