Rhode Island Department of HealthState of Rhode Island
Department of Health
Rhode Island Department of HealthState of Rhode Island
Department of Health
The Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island is a broad based coalition of partners who have come together to provide input in the planning and implementation of programs and services around comprehensive cancer control. Comprehensive cancer control involves promoting cancer prevention, improving cancer detection, increasing access to health and social services, and reducing the burden of cancer.
The Partnership works collaboratively to reduce the burden of cancer for the residents of Rhode Island by:
The Partnership has six workgroups:
The Prevention Workgroup works to support lifestyle modifications that can reduce a person’s risk for developing cancer. Approximately one-third of cancer-related deaths can be linked to diet, sedentary lifestyles and being overweight or obese. Smoking is responsible for an additional 30% of cancer-related deaths.
Reduce cancer risk through changes in behavior, policies and environment that promote healthy lifestyles.
The Detection and Screening Workgroup focuses its work on increasing screening rates in Rhode Island for certain types of cancer. Screening is testing for a specific disease across a defined population when there are no clinical indications of illness. Screening the general population for some types of cancers can lead to early detection and an increased likelihood that treatment will be successful.
The Detection and Screening Workgroup has the following goal and objectives:
Increase proven, science-based cancer screening rates among all segments of the population in Rhode Island.
The Palliative Care Workgroup focuses on increasing Rhode Islanders access to high quality palliative care. Palliative care prevents or treats the symptoms of the disease, side effects caused by treatment, and psychological, social and spiritual problems related to the disease and its treatment. Palliative care does not alter the course of the disease but can prevent and relieve suffering and improve quality of life for patients and their families.
Improve access to palliative care for all patients seeking end-of-life care due to cancer in Rhode Island.
Survival rates have been increasing, reflecting progress in diagnosing certain cancers at an earlier stage and improvements in treatment. Cancer patients and their families need to be empowered to make effective choices not only during active treatment but also after it has been completed. The Survivorship Workgroup strives to increase access to support services and resources for survivors of cancer.
The Survivorship Workgroup has the following goal and objectives:
Promote the well being and quality of life of Rhode Islanders who are living with, through, and beyond cancer.
Quantitative surveillance of “cancer burden” — the determinants, incidence, and consequences of cancer and its distribution across diverse population groups — is essential to the planning and management of a comprehensive cancer control program. The Surveillance and Evaluation Workgroup defines existing cancer control challenges and issues, monitors cancer burden and disparities in burden over time, suggests priorities for the reduction of cancer burden, monitors the implementation of cancer control activities, and evaluates the effectiveness of cancer control interventions.