MUW Gets Grant To Promote Cancer Fight

COLUMBUS, Miss — The Mississippi Partnership for Comprehensive Cancer Control (MP3C) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Comprehensive Cancer Control Program have awarded the faculty of the Department of Health and Kinesiology at Mississippi University for Women a $5,000 grant to address primary and secondary prevention of colorectal cancer.

Colorectal cancer, cancer of the colon and rectum, is the third leading cause of death in men and women. It accounts for 10 percent of all cancer deaths in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, colorectal cancer deaths have been declining. Mississippi is the only state that has not seen a decline.

The purpose of this project, titled Cancer Beat It!, is to increase awareness about primary and secondary prevention of this cancer. Additionally, the Cancer Beat It! project aims to encourage residents of north east Mississippi, particularly underserved minorities, to undergo colorectal screening according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force’s (USPSTF) screening guidelines.

Cancer Beat It! will undertake a series of theory-driven (health belief model), spiritually based (healthy body, healthy soul) outreach activities at local churches. These interventions will seek to increase awareness of the risk factors, the screening guidelines and resources available to the public.

Cancer Beat It! also aims to increase awareness about cancer control activities in Mississippi and recruit members to the MP3C partnership. Dr. Chad Murphy, Katie Cranston and Dr. Irene Pintado are members of this partnership.

“Joining the MP3C is a great way of staying connected to other individuals and organization that are also committed to reducing the human suffering and economic burden of cancer for people living in Mississippi,” said Cranston, one of the grant’s principal investigators.

For more information about Cancer Beat It or MP3C, please contact Dr. Murphy at cmurphy@edhs.muw.edu or Dr. Pintado at ipintado@edhs.muw.edu.

Categories: Local News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *