American Cancer Society Roundtables
Some barriers challenging our efforts to improve the lives of people with cancer and their families are too complex for any one organization to address on its own. To overcome these barriers, the American Cancer Society (ACS) unites organizations in collaborative partnerships through its mission-critical national roundtables. ACS provides organizational leadership and expert staff support to roundtables focused on breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer, lung cancer, HPV vaccination, and patient navigation.
What is a roundtable?
An ACS roundtable is a coalition of organizations dedicated to a shared vision of giving all people a fair and just opportunity to prevent and survive cancer. The ACS roundtables are a recommended and proven model for creating sustained partnerships across diverse sectors and diverse communities to tackle both long-standing and emerging issues in cancer.
ACS, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), launched its first roundtable, the ACS National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, in 1997. Since then, we have worked with partners to establish the ACS National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, the ACS National Lung Cancer Roundtable, and the ACS National Navigation Roundtable. In October 2022, we launched our newest roundtables in response to the Biden Administration’s Cancer Moonshot, the ACS National Breast Cancer Roundtable and the ACS National Roundtable on Cervical Cancer.
National Breast Cancer Roundtable
The American Cancer Society National Breast Cancer Roundtable (ACS NBCRT) was established in 2022. The ACS NBCRT is a national coalition of member organizations dedicated to leading collective action across the nation so that every person and their support systems will know and understand breast cancer risk and screening needs, and can access timely, high-quality, and compassionate screening, diagnosis, treatment, and supportive care needed to improve their survival and quality of life.
The ACS NBCRT aims to accelerate progress across the breast cancer continuum through strategic partnerships to eliminate disparities and reduce mortality.
National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable
The American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT) was established in 1997 in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The ACS NCCRT is a national coalition of more than 180 member organizations, with a shared mission to increase the use of proven screening tests among the entire population for whom screening is appropriate.
The combined energy of the members of the ACS NCCRT has become one of the nation’s most important catalysts to increase colorectal cancer screening rates. In 2019, the ACS NCCRT launched 80% in Every Community, a health equity-focused campaign to improve colorectal cancer screening across the nation. This initiative builds on the award-winning and high-achieving 80% by 2018, where more than 1,800 organizations pledged to strive toward reaching screening rates of 80% or higher for age-eligible adults.
The current activities of the ACS NCCRT and its partners are guided by the 80% in Every Community Strategic Plan, and progress toward those planned activities are monitored and discussed at the ACS NCCRT Annual Meeting and through the regular meetings of its strategic priority teams.
National HPV Vaccination Roundtable
The American Cancer Society National HPV Vaccination Roundtable (ACS HPVRT) was established in 2014 in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACS HPVRT is a coalition of more than 70 member organizations working to raise HPV vaccination rates and prevent HPV cancers in the U.S.
The ACS HPVRT’s power comes from passionate advocates representing survivors, researchers, health systems, providers, and public health leaders among others. Members contribute expertise and activate their own organizations to advance our collective mission.
The ACS HPVRT’s members advance the roundtable’s mission by:
- Convening national organizations, experts, and key stakeholders to ideate, strategize, and problem solve.
- Communicating and informing key audiences (coalitions, health systems, parents, providers, and the public) about the importance of HPV vaccination as cancer prevention.
- Catalyzing members, and by extension the public, to take action to close the adolescent vaccination gap.
The ACS HPVRT regularly holds a national meeting of its members to align key stakeholders and audiences and improve member coordination around the group’s annual action plan.
National Lung Cancer Roundtable
The American Cancer Society National Lung Cancer Roundtable (ACS NLCRT) was established in 2017. The ACS NLCRT is a national coalition of more than 170 member organizations with a shared mission to create lung cancer survivors and to lower the impact of lung cancer through risk reduction, early detection, and assurance of optimal diagnosis and therapy.
The ACS NLCRT is a supportive platform for harnessing and coordinating the collective power and expertise of the entire lung cancer community. The ACS NLCRT works to ensure high-quality access to the continuum of care for all adults at risk for, or affected by, lung cancer with particular attention to where disparities exist by sex, race, ethnicity, income, insurance status, and geography.
A collaboratively developed strategic plan as well as direction from a multidisciplinary Steering Committee guides the shared efforts of the ACS NLCRT. Task groups develop and manage projects that fall into their scope of work along the lung cancer continuum. The full membership gathers annually to track progress, understand emerging trends, and accelerate new roundtable activities.
National Navigation Roundtable
The American Cancer Society National Navigation Roundtable (ACS NNRT) was established in 2017. The ACS NNRT is a national coalition of more than 80 member organizations and invited individuals dedicated to advancing navigation efforts that eliminate barriers to quality care, reduce disparities, and foster ongoing health equity across the cancer continuum. The ultimate vision of the ACS NNRT is high-quality cancer care for all through evidence-based patient navigation.
Together, ACS NNRT members address the needs in the field of navigation that are best tackled through collective action and support. Through its annual meeting and task groups, the ACS NNRT builds evidence of the positive impact of patient navigation across the cancer continuum.
National Roundtable on Cervical Cancer
The American Cancer Society National Roundtable on Cervical Cancer (ACS NRTCC) was established in 2022. The ACS NRTCC is a national coalition of members dedicated to tackling disparities in cervical cancer prevention, screening, and treatment through collective action in order to eliminate cervical cancer and reduce the harm caused by the disease.
By engaging key organizations to institute policy and systems change, the ACS NRTCC is working to increase cervical cancer screening with a special focus on self-sampling as a method for reaching rarely or never-screened people.
The ACS NRTCC benefits from ACS institutional knowledge and the momentum of ACS leadership. For more than seven decades, the ACS has led cervical cancer efforts such as the Women's Field Army with current efforts including the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable, Mission: HPV Cancer Free, and the ACS Cervical Cancer Screening Initiative (CCSI). These partnerships allow the ACS NRTCC to capitalize on existing networks and expertise cultivated by the ACS and move forward quickly with a coordinated effort that brings the ACS NRTCC organization, its partners, and the people it serves to the historic achievement of a cervical-cancer-free world.
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