Policymakers, health care leaders, advocates and cancer survivors gathered in Madison Thursday to help kick off a five year Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan. State Department of Health Services Secretary Karen Timberlake said the plan is designed to provide a framework for further prevention and treatment of the disease.
“We know that if everyone is working from the same plan, working on the same objectives and if everyone is doing what they can do, we can build on the progress we’ve already made in this state and we can do even more”
The plan addresses cancer disparities that exist among ethnic groups, rural and urban dwellers, and those who have high school diplomas compared to those who don’t, according to Timberlake.
The Wisconsin Cancer Council has been working on the comprehensive plan for the past year. The council is a long standing coalition of the UW and the state’s public health division.