Public Health & Cancer Awareness

CANCER PREVENTION

Experts believe that up to 50% of cancers can be prevented. That’s because certain daily habits can make us more likely to get cancer. Changing these habits may help prevent cancer.

5 lifestyle changes that may reduce your cancer risk:

  • Quit smoking (802quits.org is Vermont's tobacco cessation resource. ). 
  • Make healthy food choices.
  • Get regular checkups & screenings.
  • Stay active.
  • Protect your skin with sun safe behaviors.

LEARN MORE

 

COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS

With regular screening, almost all colorectal cancer can be prevented. If you are 45 or older, please talk to your doctor about screening options. 

VIEW RESOURCES

 

SKIN CANCER AWARENESS: "BE SUN SAFE" 

Did you know that Vermont has the second highest incident rate of melanoma in the U.S.?
May is skin cancer awareness month and by limiting sun exposure you can reduce your skin cancer risk.
Three Prevention Tips:

  1. Cover up. Wear wide-brimmed hats, sun-protective clothing and sunglasses.
  2. Stay indoors between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. or seek shade.
  3. Wear sunscreen, with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher.

Early detection promotes successful treatment, talk to your doctor about your screening options. 

Summer Safety Tips: Find some simple health and safety tips for summertime activities.

Something New Under The Sun: Learn about the signs of melanoma.

9 Things I'd Never Do As A Dermatologist: Summer's coming. How many of these ski 'don'ts' do you do?

 

PROSTATE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer. UVM Cancer Center clinical member, Shahid Ahmed, MD, MBBS, a medical oncologist specializes in cancers of the urinary system and the reproductive organs in men and provides an overview of diagnosis and tips to manage treatment side effects in this Healthsource article. 

READ ARTICLE

 

BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Women's Health and Cancer Conference: View recordings of presentations and panels about surgical options, survivorship, integrative care, palliative care, and breakthrough advances in the research.

Breast Cancer Portfolio: Learn more about the UVM Cancer Center's research, education, community outreach, and clinical care related to breast cancer.

Clinical Trials: See what clinical trials are being offered related to breast cancer.

Genetic Testing for Cancer and Risk Assessment: Learn about the team of clinicians who provide genetic screening and risk assessment.

Screening Guidelines: The American Cancer Society recommends these screening guidelines. 

Breast Cancer Screening: Reach out to your primary care provider or the Breast Care Center if you are due for a screening.

Support Services: There are many resources for patients in treatment or patients who have completed their treatment, including support groups and the popular Steps to Wellness class. 

 

LUNG CANCER AWARENESS: "GET CHECKED, IT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE"

Lung Cancer Public Health Campaign. The UVM Cancer Center teamed up with Dartmouth Cancer Center and Vermonters Taking Action Against Cancer to encourage more Vermonters to get screened for lung cancer. When detected early, local tumors can be removed which increases the patient's survival rate from 24% to 60%.

Learn more about:

  • Guidelines
  • Screening locations in Vermont
  • Eligibility requirements

VIEW CAMPAIGN

Lung Cancer Research. Learn more about the Cunniff lab's promising new therapy for mesothelioma and metastatic cancer, which is currently a Phase I clinical trial. 

Clinical Trials: See what clinical trials are being offered related to lung cancer.

News Headlines:

New Study Introduces Novel Methodology to Benchmark Hospitals on In-Hospital Disparities

June 18, 2024 by Katelyn Queen, PhD

Elzerie de Jager, MBBS, PhD

Disparities in healthcare exist on a national, state, regional, and hospital level. With increased awareness of these disparities, many initiatives have been put in place to improve health equity. However, there is currently no consensus on how to measure disparities in healthcare, and disparity sensitive metrics have not been widely integrated into quality-assessment programs. A lack of disparity metrics makes it challenging to assess the impact of health equity initiatives on improving health equity over time. Now, new research from Elzerie de Jager, MBBS, PhD, in collaboration with leadership at the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, introduces a novel methodology to benchmark hospitals on in-hospital disparities in surgical care.

Utilizing the new methodology, the authors found that after risk adjustment fewer than 1.1% of the 657 hospitals in the study had demonstratable disparities in care. In contrast, prior to risk adjustment within-hospital disparities for socioeconomic status were detected in 25.8-99.8% of hospitals. This difference was likely due to the fact that the risk adjustment accounts for comorbidities which are higher in lower socioeconomic status populations. The results of this work indicate the need to consider other factors in disparity assessment, including risk adjustment methodology and healthcare segregation (differing access to healthcare institutions).  

This study was made possible through collaboration and mentoring by an astounding team of prominent senior investigators including leadership at the American College of Surgeons: the statistical manager, Mark Cohen, PhD, the director of quality, Clifford Ko, MD, MS, MSHS, FACS, and the past executive director, David Hoyt, MD, FACS. The leader of the project was L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, FACS, who, among many other accolades, is a past president of the American College of Surgeons. Having recently joined UVM as an Assistant Professor of Medicine, de Jager is eager to continue her health equity work here, collaborating with Erika Ziller, PhD, Director of the Health Services Research Center, and Yvonne Jonk, PhD, from the University of Southern Maine, to examine differences in trauma outcomes for patients residing in ambulance deserts (more than 25 minutes away from an ambulance station). In addition, de Jager has developed a 3-credit graduate health equity course which will be available to students in the fall. She is excited to contribute to the public health program and continue her health equity research at UVM.