Cancer Prevention Works: Awareness and Preventive Care for Better Health

September 2020

Actions Women Can Take to Lower the Risk of Gynecologic Cancers

September is Gynecologic Cancer Awareness month, and this reminds women that good gynecologic health is important. Gynecologic cancers include five main types of cancer that affect a woman’s reproductive organs: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. All women are at risk for gynecologic cancers, and the risk increases as women get older. Human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. Actions such as learning the symptoms, knowing what's normal for you, getting the HPV vaccine, and getting screened regularly can help lower your risk.

Uterine cancer is the most common gynecologic cancer in the United States. Most uterine cancers are found in women who are going through or who have gone through menopause, which is when a woman’s menstrual periods stop. If you notice symptoms like unusual bleeding and pain in the pelvis that lasts for two weeks or longer, see a doctor. When gynecologic cancers are found early, treatment is most effective. Get the facts about gynecologic cancers from CDC’s Inside Knowledge campaign.

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Prostate Cancer: What Men Need to Know and Talk About

Prostate cancer is a very common cancer among men in the United States. All men are at risk for prostate cancer but African-American men are more likely to get prostate cancer than other men. The chance of getting prostate cancer increases as men get older. A family history that includes more than one first-degree relative (father, son or brother) with prostate cancer can also increase a man’s risk. Most prostate cancers grow slowly and may not need treatment right away. Some men may have a faster growing prostate cancer and will benefit from early treatment.

Screening for prostate cancer has benefits and harms. Talk with your doctor about your risks before making a decision to get screened. CDC is highlighting Prostate Cancer Awareness month with Talk to Someone About Prostate Cancer, a new tool to help men get a better understanding of prostate cancer and options for screening and treatment.

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Healthy People 2030: A Shared Vision for Improving the Nation’s Health

Since 1980, the Healthy People initiative has set 10-year goals and measurable objectives to improve health and well-being in the United States. Healthy People 2030 builds on knowledge gained over the past four decades to address current and emerging public health priorities and challenges. Healthy People 2030 has a reduced number of objectives to avoid overlap and prioritize critical health issues.

Healthy People 2030 cancer objectives focuses on promoting evidence-based cancer screening and prevention strategies. These objectives are consistent with CDC’s current efforts to increase cancer screening and prevention awareness. In addition, high-quality data from CDC’s National Program of Cancer Registries, a central part of the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS), will help monitor and measure progress toward achieving the objective on cancer survival over the next 10 years.

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New Podcast on Cancer Prevention and Care During a Pandemic

	The Oncology Nursing Society (ONS) presents a new podcast, “CDC’s Perspective on Cancer Prevention, Treatment, and Care—Even During a Pandemic.” This podcast features Dr. Lisa Richardson, director of CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. Dr. Richardson discusses CDC’s initiatives for cancer prevention and screening during the COVID-19 pandemic and flu season.

The conversation also focuses on how oncology nurses can help improve declining screening rates and access a new database of cancer incidence and biomarkers.

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New Course Series: Understanding Early Onset Breast Cancer

Early onset breast cancer (EOBC) is breast cancer that occurs in women under the age of 45. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the CDC have joined efforts to help providers identify and manage the risks young women face for EOBC. "Understanding Early Onset Breast Cancer" is a free CME-accredited (continuing medical education) course series that provides effective risk assessment tools, communication tools and techniques that can be used in patient interactions. Providers can learn about factors that contribute to EOBC, including genetic and racial/ethnic risk factors, breast density, and family history. This course series also helps providers identify ways to reduce the impact of health disparities in EOBC. If you have questions, please contact ACOG.

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Research Spotlight

Effectiveness of Interventions to Increase Colorectal Cancer Screening Among American Indians and Alaska Natives looks at the low colon cancer screening rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities and how well interventions work to increase screening, specifically using direct mailing of fecal immunochemical test (FIT) kits. In the United States, Non-Hispanic Black (NHB) Women are diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) more often than other ethnic or racial groups. Are There Regional Differences in Triple Negative Breast Cancer among Non-Hispanic Black Women? is a study that looks at TNBC cases among NHB women and the differences by regions in the United States.

Did You Know? It takes about two weeks after a flu vaccination for antibodies to develop in the body and provide protection. Getting a flu shot is an important preventive tool for people with cancer who are at risk for serious illness. The genes commonly affected in hereditary breast and ovarian cancer are the breast cancer 1 (BRCA1) and breast cancer 2 (BRCA2) genes. About 3% of breast cancers (about 7,500 women per year) and 10% of ovarian cancers (about 2,000 women per year) result from inherited mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes