Colon cancer prevention to be topic of webcast, broadcast Friday
| June 07, 2005 | |
| CHAPEL HILL — Strategies for preventing colorectal cancer will be the topic of a Friday (June 10) program sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Public Health, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”Collaborating to Conquer Colorectal Cancer: Fulfilling the Promise of Prevention,” an hour-long webcast and satellite broadcast, is part of the Public Health Grand Rounds series. The 2 p.m. program will be broadcast from the Fred W. Mayes Telecommunications Center in 231 Rosenau Hall on the Carolina campus. Seating is available for local viewers.
More than 181 sites in 48 states have registered to view the free program via satellite. Registration and other details are available at: publichealthgrandrounds.unc.edu. Questions may be submitted at interactive satellite conference sites, by fax or online. Continuing education credit will be offered based on one hour of instruction. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 145,000 Americans will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer and another 55,000 will die from the disease during 2005. Proper screening, however, can reduce these deaths by more than 60 percent. Screening also can detect precancerous polyps. Less than half of U.S. adults receive screening tests, which are recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts in primary care and prevention that systematically reviews the evidence of effectiveness and develops recommendations for clinical preventive services. This program, the 22nd in the Public Health Grand Rounds series, will feature a case study in Frederick County, Md., where public health community members are collaborating to implement interventions to prevent this disease. Physical inactivity and excess body weight account for up to a third of colon cancers, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has reported. Therefore, the importance of colorectal cancer screening will be just one of the prevention messages in this particular broadcast. The program also will discuss community interventions that can help people increase their physical activity and change their diets. “The Maryland experience in this show’s remarkable case study will provide the perfect context for a conversation between a health department and the many public health system partners concerned with cancer awareness, outreach, diagnosis and control,” said Dr. Hugh H. Tilson, a program panelist and clinical professor of epidemiology and health policy in UNC’s School of Public Health. Joining Tilson on the panel will be Dr. Ralph J. Coates, associate director for science at the CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control; Ann J. Ward, a community research consultant with the Appalachia Cancer Network at Pennsylvania State University; and Polly A. Hager, colorectal cancer program coordinator and senior nurse consultant at the Michigan Public Health Institute. The panel is moderated by Dr. William L. Roper, dean of UNC’s School of Medicine, chief executive officer of the UNC Health Care System and vice chancellor for medical affairs. Public Health Grand Rounds is a program of the N.C. Institute for Public Health, housed within UNC’s School of Public Health. Through in-depth analysis of real world issues by experts in the science and practice of public health, these programs provide a forum through which health professionals and others can develop responses to public health challenges of regional, national, and global significance. Past editions of the program may be viewed at www.PublicHealthGrandRounds.unc.edu.
N.C. Institute for Public Health contact: Beverly Holt, (919) 966-6274 or bev_holt@unc.edu For further information please contact Ramona DuBose by email at ramona_dubose@unc.edu |
