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What is the Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control? Cancer exacts a terrible toll on Iowa, year after year. Last year, some 15,300 Iowans were told they have cancer and approximately 6,400 lost their lives to this disease. That's the bad news. The good news is that research advances have brought us to the point where cancer is no longer the automatic death sentence it once was. More than half of the Iowans who have cancer will survive it, and each year the number of cancer survivors in Iowa grows. But, Iowa has an opportunity to save so many more of our fellow citizens from the consequences of cancer by using already proven techniques for cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and quality of life and to continue as an active participant in the nation's cancer research enterprise. Iowa can significantly change the course of cancer through organizations from the private, government and the not-for-profit sectors working together in a comprehensive, statewide approach to cancer control--something that hasn't happened here before. In 2001, the Iowa Legislature commissioned a detailed study of the impact of cancer on the state. Their report, The Face of Cancer in Iowa, led to the formation of the Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control. Represented on the Consortium are researchers, legislators, insurance companies, health care providers, genetics, faith-based organizations, hospice, pharmaceutical companies, cancer centers, cancer survivors, health systems, voluntary health organizations, state and local public health agencies, schools, and a variety of other agencies with interest in cancer control. The Iowa Consortium for Comprehensive Cancer Control (ICCCC) has developed and is putting into action a state comprehensive cancer control plan. The goals of the plan are:
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