Nearly ten years ago, the Indiana State Department of Health, the Indiana University Cancer Center, the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Public Health, and the American Cancer Society, Great Lakes Division launched the Indiana Cancer Consortium (ICC), a statewide network of public and private partnerships united to reduce the burden of cancer in Indiana. Over the last decade, the ICC has welcomed over 150 members, both individuals and organizations, representing all regions and counties across the state of Indiana. Year after year, these members join together in partnership, collaboration, and organization to carry out the objectives established in a comprehensive plan that addresses cancers across the continuum from prevention through palliation.

Today, we are proud to announce our next organizational milestone and our next step in the fight against cancer: The Indiana Cancer Consortium Blog!

What can you expect from the ICC Blog?

The blog will be a place for the ICC to elaborate on its mission and objectives represented in the state plan by providing committee updates, event announcements, and various accomplishments achieved by the ICC and/or ICC partner organizations. However, more importantly, the blog will act as a tool for better connecting the consortium with members, health professionals, other coalitions, and various citizens interested in cancer control and prevention. With this blog, we promise to be more transparent and more accessible, and as a result, we hope to provide readers with both educational and informative content.

What will be written about on the blog?

The blog will focus on evidence-based cancer control and prevention with a specific aim to educate professionals and the public on the objectives outlined in the Indiana Cancer Control Plan, 2010-2014.

That said, our blog will also reflect the many hats the ICC wears in the Indiana cancer community (leader, advocate, planner, cheerleader, provider, etc.). In short, blog articles will explore:

• The depths of cancer control in developing, implementing, and evaluating a state plan;
• The intricacies of establishing local cancer control coalitions;
• Advocacy issues ICC committees and partner organizations are undertaking;
• Best practices on how to use social media with public health;
• Cancer facts and figures reports specific to the Indiana cancer burden.

All this in addition to a few special blog series that you will surely not want to miss out on!

Wrapping up…

So, welcome to all of our readers! This project is one that will evolve over time to the needs of our members and readers, but we hope you are as excited as we are about what is to come. We encourage you to get involved by commenting on our posts and letting us know your thoughts or what your organization may be doing in the field of cancer control. Finally, we love hearing from our members and invite those interested to contact us for guest blogging opportunities.

Until next time, thanks for reading and have a good day!