Support More Accurate, Up to Date Cancer Statistics

As a cancer surveillance professional, I’m writing to share two ways you can support more accurate, up-to-date cancer statistics.

Without accurate, timely cancer data, public health officials, researchers and health care providers cannot measure cancer occurrence and trends at the local and national levels; inform and prioritize cancer education and screening programs; evaluate efficacy of prevention efforts and treatments; determine survival rates; conduct research on causes, diagnoses, and treatments; and ensure quality and equity in cancer care and plan for health services.


First, I’m writing to ask that you support much needed funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC). About half of the over 600,000 U.S. cancer deaths that will occur this year could be averted through the application of existing cancer control interventions. Over the dozen years between FY 2010 and FY 2022, funding for the DCPC increased by just 5.3 percent or $19.699 million, from $370.3 million to $389.799 million. If funding had merely kept pace with inflation, more than $87 million in additional funds would have been allocated for DCPC alone. I'm asking that you support $ 478.6 million for the DCPC, including $26 million in funding to establish a national Cancer Surveillance Cloud Computing Platform. Although all healthcare providers are legally required to report cancer cases to state and regional registries, processing the data takes a long time. It typically takes 24-36 months for data on new cancer diagnoses to be fully processed and submitted for national publication. CDC is working to greatly increase the speed of reporting by creating a national cloud computing platform, with the goal of publishing national data in just 12 months. Real time reporting will give health providers, researchers, and public health officials the data they need to make timelier and better-informed decisions about cancer care, research, and policy, and will ultimately save lives.


Second, I’m also asking that you consider co-sponsoring upcoming legislation (the Counting Veterans’ Cancer Act of 2022) that will require that all cancer cases among veterans are reported by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) to cancer registries. The Counting Veterans Cancer Act will:

• provide more accurate national statistics on veterans' cancer cases;
• help identify cancer-related disparities in the veterans’ community;
• improve understanding of the cancer-related needs of veterans;
• increase opportunities for veterans with cancer to be included in clinical trials, cancer-related research and analysis.

The Counting Veterans’ Cancer Act will help ensure all veterans receive the highest quality cancer care they need and deserve. According to 2017 data, approximately 26,500 cancer cases among veterans were not reported to state cancer registries funded through NPCR. Federal law requires the CDC and the National Cancer Institute to collect cancer data for all newly diagnosed cancer cases, but that cannot be achieved due to frequent lack of reporting by VA medical facilities. The Counting Veterans Cancer Act is a common-sense solution to a very fixable problem.

If you’re interested in more information on the Counting Veterans’ Cancer Act of 2022, please contact NCRA’s Public Policy and Strategy Consultant, Adam Ebbin at consulting@adamebbin.com.

As your constituent, please let me know if you’ll help support more accurate, up to date cancer statistics.

Sincerely,
(First Name) (Last Name)