Fall 2023 Cancer Coalition Newsletter

Register Today for the 2023 Fall Meeting!

Registration is open for the 2023 SD Cancer Coalition Fall Meeting!

Join us on Oct. 10 in Mitchell to network with fellow coalition members and hear from a variety of speakers from across the state.

Registration is free, and lunch and breaks are provided thanks to our generous sponsors, the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN South Dakota.

Meeting agenda is available here.

We will have some tables available for organizations wishing to display or distribute information to meeting attendees. Please contact Megan Myers if your organization is interested in this opportunity.

All members of the SD Cancer Coalition are encouraged to attend. See you in Mitchell!

Your Input Needed: Annual Coalition Priority Setting!

Each year, the SD Cancer Coalition reevaluates the priority areas within the SD Comprehensive Cancer Control State Plan to direct the work of Coalition task forces and committees.

Task forces work to implement objectives within one or more particular priority areas, and cross-cutting committees serve the coalition as a whole. We encourage all Coalition members to join and be active in at least one of these vital groups.

Task forces meet quarterly via video conference and once in-person at the annual SD Cancer Coalition Fall Meeting. Cross-cutting committees meet via video conference on an ad hoc basis approximately 2-4 times per year.

Please take the survey below to help set Coalition priorities for 2023-2024. Survey deadline is Sept. 22.

Take Coalition Priorities Survey

Partner Resources for September

The month of September includes observances for childhood cancer, prostate cancer, and gynecologic (cervical, ovarian, uterine) cancers. We hope these resources are useful to you and your work.

Childhood Cancer

Prostate Cancer

Gynecologic Cancer

Childhood Cancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Project: Aims to improve rapid case ascertainment (RCA) of pediatric, adolescent, and young adult cancer (PAYAC) incidence and promote more robust PAYAC data use among the public health community.

Bring It to the Table: Understanding Your Family’s Cancer Risk

National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month Toolkit: Helps your organization implement evidence-based practices when communicating about prostate cancer.

Talk to Nathan: Human simulation platform that provides an interactive conversation about prostate cancer.

U.S. Cancer Statistics Prostate Cancer Stat Bite

Gynecologic Cancer Awareness Month Social Media Toolkit: Helps your organization implement evidence-based practices when communicating about gynecologic cancers.

Cervical Cancer and American Indian Women

Pap-A-Thon Toolkit for rural tribal communities.

HPV and Oral Cancer: Webinar on decreasing HPV and oral cancer in Indian Country.

More Info & Apply Here

FOCUS Program Application Deadline Approaching

Exact Sciences is still accepting applications for its Fall 2023 Funding Opportunities for Colorectal Cancer Screening Uptake Strategies - “FOCUS” Program.

Applications for RFP FOCUS 2023 will close at Sept. 7 at 11:59 pm CT.

Cancer Research News

Salk: High-fat diets may alter gut bacteria, increase colorectal cancer risk

The prevalence of colorectal cancer in people under the age of 50 has risen in recent decades. One suspected reason: the increasing rate of obesity and high-fat diets.

Now, researchers at the Salk Institute and UC San Diego have discovered how high-fat diets can change gut bacteria and alter digestive molecules called bile acids that are modified by those bacteria, predisposing mice to colorectal cancer.

Full article

JAMA: Cancers rising among younger Americans

Most cancers in the United States are found in people age 65 and older, but a new study shows a concerning trend: Cancer among younger Americans, particularly women, is on the rise, with gastrointestinal, endocrine and breast cancers climbing at the fastest rates.

A study published in JAMA Network Open showed that while cancers among older adults have declined, cancers among people younger than 50 have increased slightly overall, with the largest increases among those age 30 to 39.

Full article

Cancer News from SD

Cancers use sugar residues to engage in multidrug resistance. The research conducted by the RAWC Lab reveals breakthrough insights into exactly how that process occurs and how it could potentially be reversed.

SDSU study reveals insights into how cancer cells evade treatment

At South Dakota State University, Dr. Rachel Willand-Charnley, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, leads the RAWC Lab — whose work revolves around improving cancer treatments.

Recently, their work has placed greater emphasis on gaining a better understanding of how cancer utilizes sugar residues and their associated genes to evade the immune system and participate in multi-drug resistance.

The full study was published in the journal Frontiers in Oncology.

Full article