My last day in this position will be January 7, after this time, please reach out to Amanda English at Amanda.S.English@uth.tmc.edu or Gabrielle Frachiseur at Gabrielle.Frachiseur@uthct.edu with any project related questions. All the best! 

Even the President knows the importance of routine colorectal cancer screening. On November 19th, 2021, President Joe Biden temporarily transferred presidential power to Vice President Kamala Harris for a routine colonoscopy. During the procedure, doctors found and removed a tubular adenoma, a type of colon polyp associated with increased risk of colorectal cancer.

Although President Biden's polyp was determined to be benign, it's important to remember that colorectal cancer begins as a polyp in most cases. Since polyps rarely cause symptoms, a colonoscopy is the best way to find and remove them before they can develop into colorectal cancer. The President's experience clearly demonstrates the importance of routine screening as a preventative measure.

Read more here.

On November 13, 2021, volunteers came together to host the 2021 Get Your Rear in Gear 5K and Fun Run, spearheaded by CDC CRCCP Project Director Allison Rosen.

Before the race, participants began their morning with a country western-themed warm-up dance. After the race, attendees enjoyed treats from many vendors, including Shake Shack and Karbach Brewing Co. The best dressed pups in attendance were recognized after the fastest race participants in each age division were announced. The event raised approximately $55,000 which will be used for local education, awareness and screening, and patient support colorectal grants.

Thank you to all who participated in the 5K, donated, and volunteered to support this great cause.

Stand Up To Cancer® and Hip Hop Public Health, an organization dedicated to building health equity through the transformative power of music, art, and science, have joined forces to create a health literacy initiative featuring an original song and music video that raise awareness about the importance of colorectal cancer screening. The PSAs specifically focus on reaching Black and Hispanic Americans, who are disproportionally impacted by low colorectal cancer screening rates.

Visit the website to view the music videos and press releases.

The 2021 80% in Every Community Conference & National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable Annual Meeting was held November 15-17, 2021.

Link to recordings can be found at the conference website.

The CDC CRCCP FY2 Annual Retreat was held November 11-12.

Project staff had the opportunity to collaborate both in-person, and virtually, to learn about project developments, celebrate successes, and strategize about overcoming challenges that presented themselves.

The retreat included a review of all project sub-components, including processes, timelines, and developed documents, as well as a project planning initiative to organize the year ahead.

Clinics are currently participating in the Assessment Phase Interviews and submitting baseline colorectal cancer screening-related data. On behalf of all project staff, we are elated to begin working with Cohort 2 and thank you for your participation as we work to increase CRC screening rates across Texas.

Genesis implemented a variety of EBIs, 1) patient reminders that included standing orders on FIT kits for all patients over 45 yrs., 2) adjustments to clinic workflow, i.e., the administration used grant stipends to purchase mailed-in FIT kits, available to all patients, which were then processed in-house. Additionally, patients who decline to accept the FIT kit, are required to sign a Refusal of Care form, which is documented in the patient’s chart (EMR).

To reinforce the prioritization of CRCS, onboarding training programs for providers and nursing staff, have been updated to reflect the enhanced prioritization by Genesis to improve all quality care measures, in each patient encounter. Providers at all Genesis clinics are eligible for incentive bonuses, which are calculated in part, by the success of meeting and exceeding quality measures, including CRCS.  Practice managers also collaborated to create provider-focused quick reference sheets that are located where FIT kits are stored. The reference sheets include information and instructions on how to complete the kit, how to mail it back, how results will be communicated to the patient, and importance of screening. Genesis is starting to increase the number of patients being referred for CRC services to external organizations, such as the CRC CPRIT program at UT Tyler, since last year’s decrease due to the pandemic.

Genesis is reporting an upward trajectory for CRCS rates. In less than 6 months of implementation, Genesis has seen an increase in over 2.3% in CRCS, across the multi-clinic organization.

“I believe this policy [standing orders] is here to stay. It aligns with the organization’s shift to prioritize quality measures related to patient care and is important to the administration and the providers.” -Kristen Coats, APRN, FNP-BC, Director of Quality/Performance Improvement

Essay AM, Schlechter CR, Mershon CA, Fial AV, et al. A scoping review of whole-of-community interventions on six modifiable cancer prevention risk factors in youth: A systems typology. Preventive Medicine 153 (2021) 106769. Available from A scoping review of whole-of-community interventions on six modifiable cancer prevention risk factors in youth: A systems typology - ScienceDirect and attached as a PDF.

US Preventive Services Task Force. Actions to Transform US Preventive Services Task Force Methods to Mitigate Systemic Racism in Clinical Preventive Services.

JAMA. Published online November 8, 2021. doi:10.1001/jama.2021.17594. Available from doi:10.1001/jama.2021.17594 and from Actions to Transform US Preventive Services Task Force Methods to Mitigate Systemic Racism in Clinical Preventive Services | Guidelines | JAMA | JAMA Network and attached as a PDF.

Petermann V, Zahnd WE, Vanderpool RC, Eberth JM, Rohweder C, et al. How cancer programs identify and address the financial burdens of rural cancer patients. Support Care Cancer. 2021 Oct 16. Available from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00520-021-06577-z and from https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06577-z A PDF was not available.

Kaufman HW, Chen Z, Niles JK, et al. Changes in Newly Identified Cancer Among US Patients From Before COVID-19 Through the First Full Year of the Pandemic. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(8):e2125681. Available from DOI: https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.25681 and attached as a PDF.

U.S. Cancer Statistics are the official federal cancer statistics, providing cancer information on the U.S. population. This data resource combines cancer registry data from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program.