Knowing your family health history can help you determine your family’s health risk and make preventive choices.

According to a health survey, only 1 in 3 adults say they have attempted to collect and record their family medical history. It’s important to your overall health, including cancer prevention, to know about your family’s health history. Knowing where to begin, understanding the importance of it and feeling comfortable with starting that conversation with your family are some of the challenges and questions we may face. To help guide us through this process the Prevent Cancer Foundation, in partnership with the National Broadcaster’s Association (NAB) and the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program, will hold the organization’s first webcast: “Family Medical History: Why and What You Should Know.”

The panel will be moderated by Dave Dubin, a three time cancer survivor and advocate for cancer screening and genetic testing. Panel members will consist of a diverse group of leading experts and advocates:

Anna Maria Izquierdo, Primary Care Physician and Executive Director of Care for Your Health

Beth N. Peshkin, MS, GCG, Associate Professor of Oncology and Senior Genetic Counselor at Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center

Allyn Rose, Miss D.C., family medical history and cancer prevention advocate

The panel will cover a range of topics including:

• The importance of knowing one’s medical history
• How your family medical history can help reduce your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases
• Strategies for learning about your medical history from family members
• Genetic testing and genetic counseling

Before and during the panel discussion, audience members are encouraged to tweet (@preventcancer) questions for the panelists to answer.

The free webcast will be streamed live online from the NAB’s offices and we hope you will be able to join us on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 2 pm Eastern. We hope you will “tune in” for this lively, informative and life-saving discussion!

Tim Byers, MD, MPH, an expert in cancer prevention research from the University of Colorado School of Public Health, will moderate a lively and thoughtful discussion among four thought leaders on cancer screening who know this issue broadly and deeply from diverse perspectives. We are fortunate to have these panelists:

• David F. Yankelevitz, MD, is professor of radiology at The Mt Sinai Hospital, an expert in the diagnosis of early lung cancer and an initiator of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) which enrolled more than 50,000 people in 8 countries.
• Stephen Taplin, MD, MPH, Branch Chief of the Process of Care Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute, is an expert in the field of cancer screening, having built his research career around problems he saw in day-to-day practice as a primary care physician and as head of a breast cancer screening program.
• Robert A. Smith, PhD, is an epidemiologist and Director of Cancer Screening at the National Office of the American Cancer Society and has been involved in the development of numerous cancer screening guidelines.
• Quyen Ngo-Metzger, MD, MPH, recently appointed as the Scientific Director for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, serves as the main government lead to provide guidance to the USPSTF and interacts with the public and other agencies regarding the work of the Task Force.

Attendees will have the opportunity to join this discussion and others at the 2013 Dialogue conference which will be held March 21 and 22, with pre-conference sessions on March 20.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation’s annual Dialogue is attended by the diversity of healthcare professionals involved in early detection of cancer, and it provides concrete tools and effective strategies for use in both clinical and public health settings. Since 1999, the screening focus of the Dialogue has been on colorectal cancer. New this year, the 2013 Dialogue is expanding to include breast, cervical and colorectal cancers, as well as skin, prostate and lung cancers. Continuing education credit is available for physicians, nursing professionals and certified health education specialists.

Register now for the 2013 Dialogue.

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To mark National Healthy Weight Week, the Prevent Cancer Foundation has designed this infographic to show safe and effective ways to help you and your loved ones maintain a healthy body weight. Committing to these simple lifestyle changes can greatly improve your health and help us all Stop Cancer Before it Starts!

Read the Full Article Boston Globe Article

1. Promote a healthy diet.
2. Find fun physical activities the family can do together.
3. Discourage smoking and drink alcohol in moderation. Support loved ones who are trying to quit smoking.
4. Talk about your family health history with each other.
5. Schedule routine cancer screenings for you, your family members and friends.

Prevent Cancer Foundation’s Graphic Design Communications Associate designed the infographic below as a reminder of the ways you can encourage and support your family and friends to adopt these healthy choices and Stop Cancer Before It Starts!

Researchers are working to improve testing to detect prostate cancer and testing to determine whether prostate cancer is likely to lead to death from the disease. There is no question that in some cases early detection of prostate cancer followed by prompt treatment saves lives. It is also clear that some men are treated for cancers that will never cause them harm, and they must live with possible side effects and complications of treatment. Currently available tests are useful but are not 100 percent accurate. It’s complicated.

To learn more about prostate cancer screening and to help you decide whether to get screened for prostate cancer, the Prevent Cancer Foundation continues to support these recommendations for the early detection of prostate cancer and recommends the American Cancer Society (ACS) Testing for Prostate Cancer guide that can be viewed or downloaded here .

1. Learn about colorectal cancer.
   Over 143,000 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2012. Yet, it is preventable, treatable and beatable! Visit the site to learn about colorectal cancer prevention, risk factors and screening options.
2. Send a Screen-A-Gram.
   Remind your loved ones to get screened by sending a fun personalized screen-a-gram. It takes seconds to send but it could save a life.
3. Share your story.
   The Foundation knows that cancer touches many lives: consider submitting a story to share about how it touched yours.
4. 

   Prevent Cancer Super Colon

   Join Our Community.
   Our community is a place where you can interact online with individuals interested in colorectal cancer screening across the country. Discuss new ideas, learn about screening efforts in other states, share experiences and vote for 2012 National Challenge entries.

5. Apply for the 2012 National Challenge.
   The purpose of the National Challenge is to champion “grass-roots” community projects in colorectal cancer screening and awareness and engage participating organizations in an online community supportive of colorectal cancer screening efforts. Click here to view guidelines and eligibility or here to apply. Applications are due April 5, followed by online voting beginning April 12. Be sure to rally your community members to vote for your project!

This collaborative partnership afforded the Prevent Cancer Foundation a unique opportunity to be involved with a powerful film on breast cancer. It also offered the Foundation a platform to educate millions of Americans on the importance of cancer prevention and early detection through several of our newly-produced Public Service Announcements (PSAs). This month, “Out of Work” and “Self Examination” have aired repeatedly on Lifetime Television and can be viewed on Lifetime’s website. The Foundation’s Marketing & Communications staff worked tirelessly for several weeks with Wicked+, and Atlanta-based Shadowlight Pictures, (both companies donating their services for the cause), on the development of the PSAs. The  Foundation will debut three additional PSAs during lung cancer (November), cervical cancer (January) and skin cancer (May) national observance months.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation partnership with Lifetime is just part of its continuing effort to Stop Cancer Before It Starts!  We hope you will  share the PSAs with friends, colleagues and loved ones and help put an end to a disease that claims more than half a million Americans each year.

What is even more extraordinary about the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s involvement is the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) the Foundation has developed. I am extremely proud to share “Out of Work” which debuts during the premiere broadcast of Five, on Monday, October 10th at 9 p.m. (EST). I am tuning in to watch Five for many reasons, but seeing the “Out of Work” PSA is at the top of my list.

The PSA campaign, staged in a support group setting, brings together many of the preventable cancers.  “Out Of Work” takes the unique approach of showing how anxious the cancers are becoming because Americans are learning about prevention steps like getting medical screenings, eating healthy, exercising, quitting smoking and knowing their family medical histories. I just love the line, “What if we all lose our jobs?” I sure would love to see every last cancer out of work.  I have lost friends, loved ones and family members to this dreaded disease. Cancer simply needs to be put out of business forever.

The success of this PSA campaign is a testament to so many individuals who dedicated their creative talents and resources to this educational endeavor.  Brian and Colin Cooley, Co-Founders and Owners of Wicked+, who provided creative direction and who have helped the Foundation share the message of cancer prevention and early detection to an ever growing audience.  Brian and Colin were instrumental in connecting the Foundation with Atlanta-based Shadowlight Pictures that donated all the production, directing, writing, casting and editing for the project. All the actors and actresses that appeared in the PSA campaign donated their time as well. I look forward to the months ahead and anticipate the roll out of the remainder of the PSAs.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation wants to “stop cancer before it starts!” One easy way you can bring us closer to making this a reality and to put these cancers on the unemployment line is to share this PSA with your friends, family and loved ones.

Out of Work from Shadowlight Pictures on Vimeo.

Editor’s Note: David Tutera is a leading wedding and event expert, host of WEtv’s “My Fair Wedding” and a member of the Prevent Cancer Foundation’s board of directors.