Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Forum On Cancer Held At Renfro Valley.
A setting for country and mountain music since it was founded in 1939, historic Renfro Valley Entertainment Center near Mt. Vernon, Kentucky hosted a gathering of a different sort on September 17th when leaders from six (6) area development districts gathered for the Kentucky Appalachian Forum on Cancer. The forum was hosted by the Kentucky Cancer Program (KCP) through a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission.
Civic, health and community leaders from Cumberland Valley, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky River, FIVCO, Big Sandy and Gateway Area Development Districts met to discuss the cancer incidence and mortality in the central Appalachian area and what Kentucky communities can do to lessen their burden of cancer.
Rep. Danny Ford, from the 80th District, welcomed the attendees. Warren Brunner, respected photographer and journalist, and his wife from Berea, KY, discussed their highly acclaimed portrait and photo-documentary work in the mountains. Described as "the Norman Rockwell of Appalachia", Warren's photographs characterize the strong Appalachian values which so influence health and social issues in the mountains--particularly the region's strong sense of community, emphasis on faith, and family ties.
Data presented by epidemiologist Jaclyn Nee with the Kentucky Cancer Registry put 5 of the 6 districts consistently in the top five districts in the state for all indexes of cancer risk--the top 4 cancer sites being: lung, colorectal, breast and cervix cancer. Katie Bathje, program coordinator for the Kentucky Cancer Consortium, discussed Kentucky's Cancer Action Plan and the need to adapt it to include strategies very specific to the Appalachian region.
Four best practice programs were presented to the group—1) a project by Gateway District Health Department promoting Gardasil vaccinations to girls, through the schools, to prevent cervical cancer; 2) Faith Moves Mountains--a faith based initiative promoting breast and cervical cancer screening and other advocacy; 3) Kentucky Homeplace--an award winning lay health adviser program; and 4) the Lung Health Program of King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, providing preventative follow up on patients with lung health issues.
Forum participants divided into discussion groups to decide what these four best programs had in common that makes them so successful in East Kentucky and how that knowledge can be put to use to implement local lung, colorectal, breast and cervix cancer interventions.
Regional District Cancer Council Roundtables will convene in October and November to share the conclusions of the forum participants and discuss specific projects which will utilize the knowledge gleaned from the forum. The forum in the Big Sandy district will be held November 5, 2008 at the Kentucky Highlands Entrepreneur Center in Paintsville from 10:00 until 2:00.
For more information the District Cancer Council Roundtable in Big Sandy Area Development District, or about cancer resources in the district, contact Becky Simpson at 606-789-3270 or by email at: rssimp2@uky.edu. Additional information is also available on the Kentucky
Civic, health and community leaders from Cumberland Valley, Lake Cumberland, Kentucky River, FIVCO, Big Sandy and Gateway Area Development Districts met to discuss the cancer incidence and mortality in the central Appalachian area and what Kentucky communities can do to lessen their burden of cancer.
Rep. Danny Ford, from the 80th District, welcomed the attendees. Warren Brunner, respected photographer and journalist, and his wife from Berea, KY, discussed their highly acclaimed portrait and photo-documentary work in the mountains. Described as "the Norman Rockwell of Appalachia", Warren's photographs characterize the strong Appalachian values which so influence health and social issues in the mountains--particularly the region's strong sense of community, emphasis on faith, and family ties.
Data presented by epidemiologist Jaclyn Nee with the Kentucky Cancer Registry put 5 of the 6 districts consistently in the top five districts in the state for all indexes of cancer risk--the top 4 cancer sites being: lung, colorectal, breast and cervix cancer. Katie Bathje, program coordinator for the Kentucky Cancer Consortium, discussed Kentucky's Cancer Action Plan and the need to adapt it to include strategies very specific to the Appalachian region.
Four best practice programs were presented to the group—1) a project by Gateway District Health Department promoting Gardasil vaccinations to girls, through the schools, to prevent cervical cancer; 2) Faith Moves Mountains--a faith based initiative promoting breast and cervical cancer screening and other advocacy; 3) Kentucky Homeplace--an award winning lay health adviser program; and 4) the Lung Health Program of King's Daughters Medical Center in Ashland, providing preventative follow up on patients with lung health issues.
Forum participants divided into discussion groups to decide what these four best programs had in common that makes them so successful in East Kentucky and how that knowledge can be put to use to implement local lung, colorectal, breast and cervix cancer interventions.
Regional District Cancer Council Roundtables will convene in October and November to share the conclusions of the forum participants and discuss specific projects which will utilize the knowledge gleaned from the forum. The forum in the Big Sandy district will be held November 5, 2008 at the Kentucky Highlands Entrepreneur Center in Paintsville from 10:00 until 2:00.
For more information the District Cancer Council Roundtable in Big Sandy Area Development District, or about cancer resources in the district, contact Becky Simpson at 606-789-3270 or by email at: rssimp2@uky.edu. Additional information is also available on the Kentucky
# posted by Joe Kinzer @ 4:15 PM 
