MTCCC Quarterly Newsletter

Welcome to the fall issue of the MTCCC Newsletter! It is November in Montana already and another edition of the Montana Cancer Control Coalition (MTCCC) Newsletter has arrived! So many exciting events and activities have happened this past quarter. A quick snapshot of some projects include:

ü The Communication Committee working to launch a media kit next quarter to promote and brand the MTCCC as a statewide coalition;

ü The Resources and Membership Committee completed a successful recommitment campaign;

ü The Early Detection and Prevention Implementation Teams are working to increase collaboration with the Worksite Wellness Coalition;

ü We had a record number of members attend the Fall Statewide Meeting in Helena which focused on Survivorship Care Plans in Montana; and

ü We are truly Working Together!!

The MTCCC now has over 200 members statewide and all three Standing Committees and four Implementation Teams are rushing full steam ahead on work plan projects. This is an exciting year to be a member of the MTCCC and to make a difference in the lives and environment for Montanans.

Cancer Survivors help us realize the difference we are making in Montana lives and the importance of the MTCCC work. The following list of individuals are those whom the MTCCC received donations in honor of at the Fall Statewide Meeting:

· Cindy Peterson

· Dr. Gary Fairbrother

· Ellen Farver

· Stuart Lehman

Thank you for your commitment to help reduce the burden of cancer in Montana. Keep reading for more details on MTCCC activities.

"Great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds"

~Alexander Graham Bell

Carrie Strike, MS | Quality Assurance Coordinator
Cancer Control Programs; Montana DPHHS
1400 Broadway C-317
Helena, MT 59620-2951
406.444.6089
cstrike@mt.gov

Fall Statewide Meeting Highlights

The attendees of the Fall MTCCC Statewide meeting in Helena on November 5th got the opportunity to learn more about cancer survivorship, specifically survivorship care plans. Dr. K. Scott Baker, director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Survivorship Program provided the keynote address and discussed at length the intent and current practices regarding survivorship clinics and care plans. His experiences provided audience members the opportunity to ponder options for integrating different models of care delivery and care plans into existing programs throughout the state.

Of course a presentation on survivorship is not complete without hearing directly from a cancer survivor. Martha Blevins, a cancer survivor from Great Falls graciously shared her story of survivorship and the importance of obtaining a written care plan in her physical and emotional healing.

Additional speakers covered topics including managing cancer pain, emotional health, communication and transition of care, as well as interactive break-out sessions on massage, acupuncture and nutrition. The meeting provided excitement and ideas for us to take back to our partner organizations to enhance cancer survivorship in Montana.

A special thanks to Lisa O'Brien, Annie Elena, Wendy Gwinner, Cheryl Hackett, Sue Warren, Candy Amerine, Kaye Norris, Britin Cross, Stephanie Streed, Janae Grotbo and Val Weedman for all of their hard work in organizing this educational opportunity. Congratulations on a job well done!

MTCCC Business News

MTCCC Bylaws Updated!

On November 5, 2009, updates to the MTCCC Bylaws were approved by a vote of the general membership at the Fall Statewide meeting in Helena, with the exception of Section VI Structure, 4 Definitions, Physician Advisory Group. The Bylaws Taskforce will revise the language in the Physician Advisory Group section for a vote at the May 5, 2010 MTCCC meeting. An updated copy of the bylaws will be published this month on the MTCCC website, www.mtcancercoalition.org, for reference.

Save the Date for the Spring Statewide meeting!!

May 5th, 2010 at St. Vincent's Hospital in Billings, MT.

The spring meeting will be a working meeting to update the Montana CCC Plan. Time will be spent as a large group as well as breaking into Implementation Teams and Committees. More information to come.

MTCCC Leadership Change

Since 2006, Dr. Tom Purcell has served as the MTCCC Co-Chair. He will continue his involvement in the MTCCC leadership as the Immediate Past Co-Chair for one year. Tom has worked with the MTCCC since 2003 helping design the prevention and early detection sections of the CCC Plan and setting the foundation for our evaluation process. During these first years of implementation, he has been a strong leader guiding Montana cancer control efforts. We thank him for his selfless contributions to cancer prevention and control in Montana.

Dr. Barbara Lloyd was elected as the incoming MTCCC Co-Chair at the November 5th MTCCC statewide meeting for a two year term. She will join Cheryl Hackett in leading the MTCCC starting in January 2010. Barb has been instrumental in the development of the Montana CCC Plan and the MTCCC having been in involved since 2001. As chair of the Evolution Committee she served four year on the Steering Committee. She is looking forward to the challenge of leading the MTCCC as we continue working together on cancer control and updating the five-year CCC Plan.

Welcome to the MTCCC

Please help welcome our new MTCCC Members! This is an exciting time to be joining us, and each individual has something instrumental to offer through their knowledge, expertise, and willingness to help.

Thank you for joining!

· Anne-Marie Kleinsasser: Early Detection

· Jeannine Brandt - Quality of Life and Survivorship

· Desirae Ware - Early Detection

· Dr. Paul Lachapelle

· Cody Custis

· Lisa Watson-Whitford

· Ashley Olsen - Quality of Life and Survivorship

· Jessica Smith - Treatment and Research

· Rosella Pongah

· Jolene Sears

· Kassie Runsabove

· Lita Pepion - Prevention and Communication

· Beldine CrookedArm Pease

· Kristen Pongah

· Joanne Healy - Quality of Life and Survivorship

· Theresa Grace Pepion - Prevention and Communication

Montana Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan ~ The Next 5 Years!

Well, it sounds like a daunting task to rewrite an entire Cancer Control Plan; however, with our Rewrite Process finalized at our recent Steering Committee Meeting on September 23, 2009, our Vision for the next 5 years is a bit clearer now!

The next 5 years will encompass our strategies and focus from 2011 through 2016. We have engaged a Task Force and are proud to announce our members:

Sue Warren, Facilitator
Cheryl Hackett, Co-Chair
Dr. Barb Lloyd, Co-Chair
Kristi Akelstad, Prevention Team
Lisa O'Brien, Quality of Life/Survivorship Team
Betsy Smith, Communication Committee
Floris Dyke, Assessment & Development Committee
Nancy White, Resources & Membership
Dr. David Myer & Dr. Grant Harrer, Treatment & Research
Carol Ballew, Cancer Epidemiologist, DPHHS
Ginny Furshong, Program Manager, DPHHS
Carrie Strike, QA Coordinator, DPHHS
Diane Arave, Program Coordinator, DPHHS
Beth Sirr, Coalition Member
Art McDonald, Member at Large/American Indian Rep
Rita McDonald, Cancer Survivor

**we still need a representative from Early Detection!!!

We will follow a framework adopted by the Wyoming Cancer Control Coalition:
#1: Reconvene the Coalition and Workgroups
#2: Review new data, new information & progress\
#3: Reassess the plan's current CCC goals & objectives
#4:Recommend interventions to achieve objectives
#5: Refine strategies & determine resources needed

Our kickoff will be the focus of the Leadership Retreat early in 2010 where our teams will identify objectives. If you are interested in being part of this comprehensive project to Control Cancer, please email Sue Warren

Become More Involved

We need MTCCC Member help!

Open Positions to be filled:

MTCCC Communications Committee Manager
MTCCC Resource and Membership Committee Manager
MTCCC Early Detection Implementation Team Chair AND Manager
MTCCC Quality of Life and Survivorship Implementation Team Manager
MTCCC Communication Committee: Newsletter Editor

If you want to become more involved and are interested in any of these open positions, please contact:

Carrie Strike,cstrike@mt.gov or call 406.444.6089

New Names in MTCCC Leadership

At the Fall Statewide Meeting two MTCCC Members were voted into the Member at Large Positions. Congratulations Debra Chibroski and Betsy Smith!

· Debra is a Clinical Pharmacist at Benefis Health System in Great Falls who currently serves on the Treatment and Research Team; and

· Betsy is a Genetic Counselor at Sletten Cancer Institute in Great Falls who is currently the Chair of the Communications Committee.

Debra and Betsy will serve on the MTCCC Steering Committee and are sure to bring a great deal of knowledge and leadership ability to the table.

Charlotte Kelley is now the American Indian Representative on the MTCCC. She will also serve on the MTCCC Steering Committee and brings many years of experience working with the American Indian population here in Montana. This position has been open for many years and it is a delight to have Charlotte working in this capacity for the MTCCC.

CRC Screening

The Montana Cancer Control Programs has received a grant from the CDC for the outreach and screening of colorectal cancer!

This is great news for the citizens of Montana and we look forward to commencing screening and outreach in January, 2010. Our focus is going to be reaching all Montanan's 50 years and older with the important message of being screened for colorectal cancer and assisting those underinsured or uninsured with paying the actual screening.

Questions regarding this grant can be directed to:
Mark Wamsley, MBA
Program Manager
Montana Cancer Screening Program
406.444.0063
mwamsley@mt.gov

Congratulations Wendy Olsen!

A $50 Visa Gift Card is going to Wendy Olson - the winner of the Recommitment Campaign Drawing!

The Resources and Membership Committee successfully completed the annual Recommitment Campaign in October. We had 68 members return their recommitment forms to be entered into the Visa card drawing.

It is not too late to submit your recommitment paperwork just because the drawing is over. The Resources and Membership Committee needs your updated contact and group selection choice to ensure our membership roster is as accurate as possible and that you have the information you need to be as involved as you can in moving cancer control forward as a coalition.

If you would like a Membership Information Form emailed to you please contact Carrie Strike: cstrike@mt.gov. The form takes less than 5 minutes to fill out!

Our goal is to have engaged members and busy Implementation Groups as soon as possible as we head into the next 5 year Montana CCC Plan update process which will begin next quarter! If you have any questions please feel free to contact Carrie @ 406.444.6089.

Cancer Awareness Workshop

Are you looking for an engaging way to work with your local community on issues related to cancer control? How about bringing the Cancer 101 workshop to a community near you?

In October the Ashland Community Health Center (ACHC) Cancer Prevention Team presented a Cancer Awareness Workshop (including Cancer 101 modules) to the communities of Poplar and Wolf Point, MT. Art and Rita McDonald, from Ashland, MT, have been contracted by the MT Comprehensive Cancer Control Program to facilitate Cancer Awareness Workshops throughout the state. They were invited by Teresa Danelson, MCCCP Region 11 Coordinator, and Sue Parker, CMS Site Coordinator for Fort Peck, to present two workshops, both of which were very well received.

The presentations included not only training on cancer basics- especially prevention and early detection, but also gave a chance for individuals to talk about activities currently ongoing in their local communities, including cancer screening research and tobacco prevention. Donna Buckles-Whitmer, from the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Council expressed her thanks for bringing this important information to the area, "The timing is important and appropriate as there are all kinds of issues requiring the community members to stand up and be heard, most especially health-related issues." The attendees spent time sharing information and discussing ways to strengthen existing local networks and increasing communication regarding cancer-related events.

If you would like to host a Cancer Awareness Workshop in your local area, please contact Art and Rita McDonald at (406) 477-6441, or ritamcd@rangeweb.net.