Success Stories

Comprehensive cancer control programs are working in communities across the nation to promote healthy lifestyles, support recommended cancer screenings, educate people about cancer symptoms, increase access to quality cancer care, and enhance cancer survivors’ quality of life. These stories illustrate the strength of comprehensive cancer control and highlight some of the extraordinary work NCCCP-funded programs have done in collaboration with their community partners. We hope they inspire readers and spark new ideas to continue the mission of CDC’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.

Mina Nskiki Gumik Appointment reminder. Gegwa Nendige! Don't Forget.

To ensure that American Indians in Michigan were given the support and services they needed to prevent cancer and find it early, the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan started the Three Fires Cancer Consortium in 2017 with funding from CDC’s National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program.

A real estate agent standing in front of a house with a For Sale sign in the yard, talking with a couple who could be the homeowners, or potential buyers.

The North Carolina Comprehensive Cancer Control Program worked with the North Carolina Radon Program to develop a new continuing education course for real estate agents. The course explains how radon can enter a home and cause lung cancer and how homes can be tested for radon.

The components of Project ECHO and Patient Navigation Workflow: Program Site; Expert Hub Team; Health Care Provider Team; Patient Navigators; and Cancer Survivors

Four National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program sites in Kansas, Montana, Nevada, and South Carolina were funded to implement Project ECHO’s telementoring platform and engage patient navigators to enhance care for cancer survivors in rural communities.

Photo of a senior Native American woman

The American Indian Cancer Foundation organized the Blue Beads campaign to increase awareness about colorectal cancer among American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

Photos of people who attended the HPV Vaccination Learning Collaborative’s closeout learning session

The easiest way to fight cancer is to stop it before it starts. With this idea in mind, three national networks have come together to lower people’s risk of getting cancer in seven states.

Photo of a voucher

Thanks to a new voucher program, low-income residents of northern Texas can get lifesaving colorectal cancer screening tests.

Photo of a health care worker in front of a Park Nicollet Mobile Mammography Unit

Health officials on the Fond du Lac Reservation in northern Minnesota partnered with the Park Nicollet health care system to provide breast cancer screenings on a Mobile Mammo Bus.

Photo of a young woman pressing the play button of a touchscreen.

Michigan’s District Health Department #10 (DHD#10) used an innovative Photovoice project created by area high school students to increase awareness of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.

Photo of a man breaking a cigarette.

American Indians and Alaska Natives are at increased risk of cancer from commercial tobacco. The Great Plains Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board worked with the Great Plains Area Indian Health Service to improve tobacco intervention skills among health care professionals.

Photo of a woman and children

The Arkansas Cancer Coalition and the Community Action Program of Central Arkansas created the Head Start Tobacco Education and Cessation Initiative to educate Head Start families about the harmful effects of tobacco use.

Cervical cancer survivor telling her story during the session.

SelfMade Health Network created a pilot program to educate college-aged women in Washington, DC about the warning signs of gynecologic cancer. The program was based on CDC’s Inside Knowledge About Gynecologic Cancer educational campaign.

Sign on pole that reads “The Pool Atrium is Now Smoke and E-Cigarette Free.”

The Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota reduced exposure to commercial tobacco products on some parts of the reservation thanks to new policies that restrict its use in or near Tribal buildings.

Photo of five factory workers.

The Schenectady County Public Health Services educated county government decision-makers about the potential benefits of increasing access to recommended cancer screenings. A resolution granted Schenectady County municipal employees an additional four hours of paid leave per year for cancer screening.

Photo of a person using a treadmill.

Burleigh County installed a treadmill desk for sedentary employees without access to its wellness program. Their average number of steps increased from 1,634 steps per shift at baseline to 7,190 steps per shift a year after the pilot ended.

Photo of people in the Arkansas State Fair.

The Arkansas Cancer Coalition worked with state fair officials to develop a policy to prohibit tobacco use during the fair. Fairgrounds are now tobacco- and nicotine-free all year.

Bicycle lanes on a road in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

The Lake Charles City Council implemented Complete Streets, an initiative that increases access to places for physical activity by making a community more walkable or bikeable. Lake Charles now has 6 miles of bike paths, and plans to add pedestrian-friendly crosswalks and sidewalks.

Photo of a lifeguard watching people at the pool.

The South Dakota Comprehensive Cancer Control Program and the South Dakota WorkWell Partnership worked with the City of Huron and Rapid City Aquatics to provide sun safety education and resources to 450 employees. In 2017, the program expanded to include all outdoor staff of the City of Britton.

A group of people walking in a park.

“The Cancer You Can Prevent” campaign focuses on increasing colorectal cancer screening in African American, Native American, and Latino communities. Findings indicate that these communities are more receptive to colorectal cancer screening messages delivered by someone they know and trust.

A banner with the words Success Stories pinned to a dashboard against a wall.

More examples of comprehensive cancer control in action.