UVA Cancer Center partners with community to tackle cancer rates across Virginia and West Virginia

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - Reducing the burden of cancer across Virginia and West Virginia. That’s the goal of a new roadmap developed at the University of Virginia.

The UVA Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Council, or CAC, serves 87 counties, many of which have higher cancer death rates than the national average.

Now the council has a new plan focused on prevention, early detection, and improving access to care.

“By bringing the community into this work we’re developing a bidirectional communication system that is building trust which is really key to increasing cancer prevention,” UVA CAC Co-Chair Ericca Facetti said.

The need is significant. Across the region, cancer death rates for cancers like colorectal, lung, breast, and melanoma are higher than the national average.

Two major risk factors, obesity and tobacco use, continue to drive the problem.

“Things like obesity and tobacco could connect directly with the cancers we’re focusing on,“ Fecetti said. ”So, it’s important not only to increase education around obesity and tobacco cessation but also education on how they can lead to these different types of cancers.”

That is why the CAC focused its plan on prevention and better access.

One piece of the plan is expanding sun safety education in schools.

“Which includes things like the sunshades, or the sunshades on the playgrounds, but that also needs to come with the education of,” Facetti said. “This is what a mole looks like that you should go and checked out, or this is why it’s important to wear a hat or limit your time in the sun.”

By bringing community voices into cancer research and outreach, UVA Cancer Center hopes to create long-term solutions that truly reflect the needs of the people it serves.

“I hope through this council we can develop an infrastructure and a process to enhance an integrated approach of connecting cancer research, education, and community voice,” Facetti said.

The CAC will continue to meet and advise UVA Cancer Center as they work to expand these efforts in the coming years.

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