Coalition Awarded a $10,000 Grant for Cancer Education
Early detection education to focus on oral, skin, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancer
January 20, 2010
The Maine Cancer Foundation has awarded the Healthy Community Coalition (HCC) a one-year $10,000 grant for cancer prevention and early detection education. The campaign will focus on oral, skin, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancer education, for all ages, throughout Greater Franklin County and Livermore Falls—complementing HCC’s efforts at breast and cervical cancer education and expanding its cancer outreach campaign utilizing new outreach methods.
“While Healthy Community Coalition has successfully reached out to women for more than 14 years educating about the importance of early detection strategies for breast and cervical cancer, this funding will provide the opportunity to focus on other cancer prevention strategies,” said Heather Davis, executive director. “There are no similar education programs currently available in the Greater Franklin County area.”
With this funding, Healthy Community Coalition will expand its outreach to include the provision of cancer prevention education via three methods: a new online social networking tool called My Health Community; door-to-door visits in some of the most rural towns; and a series of educational and screening events to be held.
According to the Maine Centers for Disease Control, cancer is the second leading cause of death in Maine and four types of cancers account for the majority of new diagnosis: lung, colorectal, breast in women, and prostate in men. Oral cancer is the 12th most common cancer in the U.S. and Franklin County has a significant number of individuals who use chewing tobacco and alcohol together, which is a known risk factor for causing higher rates of oral cancer.
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