Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Oregon since 2000, when it surpassed heart disease. As in other parts of the country, the cancers with the highest incidence and mortality in Oregon are lung, colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. While cancer is a primary concern for all communities, the burden of cancer does not fall equally on all Oregonians. Oregon cancer surveillance data has consistently demonstrated that cancer rates are often higher in parts of the state and among different demographic groups with higher rates of key modifiable risk factors, especially tobacco use, physical inactivity, poor nutrition, alcohol use, and low screening rates.
Since 1998, the Oregon Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (OCCCP) has received funding from the National Comprehensive Cancer Control Program (NCCCP) at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to coordinate with Oregon State Cancer Registry (OSCaR) and ScreenWise, Oregon’s breast and cervical cancer early detection program to develop and implement a comprehensive cancer control program in Oregon. Through this partnership, OCCCP has focused on working collaboratively with multiple public health, health system, community, and advocacy partners at the local, state, and federal levels to address the preventable root causes of cancers including tobacco use, excess alcohol, poor nutrition and lack of physical activity; improving screening rates and community-clinical linkages for at-risk populations; and improving the health and quality of life for cancer survivors.
The Public Health Division pools resources from multiple chronic disease programs and focusing on the common risk factors of tobacco use, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol use, and poor nutrition across all Oregon communities. This integrated approach has been effective not only in lowering cancer burden in Oregon, but also in reducing other chronic disease rates, and in maintaining the sustainability of many programs and initiatives contributing to cancer control.
The Oregon Partnership for Cancer Control is part of the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Section in the Center for Prevention and Health Promotion. Search the Public Health Program Directory to see all programs in the Oregon Public Health Division.