Action Items

Partner with neighborhood organizations, physicians, hospitals, and local public health officials to make the initiative a community wide goal.

• Rally with other organizations to prioritize this effort. Get involved with your state cancer coalition or colorectal cancer roundtable to advance screening in your community.
• Contact your local American Cancer Society office or your local or state health department to learn about activities in your area.
  • RESOURCE: American Cancer Society Colorado
  • RESOURCE: Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment Cancer Programs
  • RESOURCE: Colorado Cancer Coalition
• Promote colon cancer screening at walk/runs, health fairs, and other community events.
• Download videos, handouts, postcards, etc., and share this information with your constituents:
  • cancer.org/colon
  • nccrt.org/80by2018-Communications-Guidebook
  • nccrt.org/80by18
• Set a goal of partnering on the 80% by 2018 initiative with five other community organizations or businesses over the next six months.

Learn your community’s colorectal cancer screening rate, and set a goal for improvement.

• By assessing where you are, you can measure and track your community’s progress and celebrate success!
• You can also use this assessment to understand which groups in your community are not getting screened. This can help you target your efforts to reach those who are most in need of hearing the message about getting screened.
• Your state or local health department may have this information. If not, the the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Evaluation 101 Toolkit offers advice about how to conduct a community assessment, lists available state and national screening data, and suggests ways to assess local progress.
• Visit nccrt.org/about/80by2018-impact-by-state/ to find the screening rate and the estimated number of people needing screening in your state.

Leverage local dignitaries/leaders, such as the mayor, a local news anchor, or a respected religious leader, to communicate with those in your community who are less likely to get screened and those who have a higher risk of colorectal cancer:

• Among the people less likely to get screened are those ages 50 to 64, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, rural populations, men, and those with lower education and income.
• African Americans are at a higher risk for colorectal cancer, have higher death rates, and are diagnosed at a younger age than any other population.
• Work with others in your community to develop a plan to get colorectal cancer screening education and resources to members of these high-need groups in your community.
• Local American Cancer Society staff, local health departments, and comprehensive cancer control coalitions are some of the partners who will want to work with you!

Designate relevant spokespeople.

• Physicians are an important avenue for delivering the message about getting screened.
  • People who have been screened often say they did so because their doctor told them to do it.
  • “My doctor didn’t tell me to get screened” is the primary reason given by African Americans and the third most common reason given by Hispanics for not getting tested.
  • Help make screening relevant and personal. Local survivors can be especially compelling messengers.
  • People who have not been screened for colorectal cancer are much less likely to have a close friend or family member with cancer than those who have been screened.
• Local survivors can help make the importance of screening real for those who have not otherwise been affected by colorectal cancer. Visit nccrt.org/80by18-Survivors for tips on how to engage survivors and their families in your efforts