Advancing health equity in cancer screening
This post has been sponsored by Exact Sciences as part of their sponsorship of the 2024 Prevent Cancer Gala.
At Exact Sciences, we strive to change lives by detecting cancer and guiding treatment during a patient’s journey with high quality diagnostic tests. We understand that the cancer experience is unique for everyone, complicated by deep-rooted inequities in cancer care and systemic barriers across the U.S. Many people from racial and ethnic minority communities continue to face significant and growing disparities in health outcomes, carrying a disproportionate burden of cancer. As a global leader in cancer diagnostics, Exact Sciences is acutely aware of the responsibility we hold in advancing health equity.
We firmly believe that everyone deserves access to the information they need to make confident, informed decisions about their health. We are committed to ensuring that our tests are accessible to all individuals, and we are honored to partner with advocacy organizations like the Prevent Cancer Foundation in their efforts to illuminate and address disparities in cancer screening so everyone can achieve Better Outcomes for their health.
Exact Sciences’ commitment to advancing health equity permeates every aspect of our organization. Our Screening Has Meaning campaign is specifically designed to engage multicultural audiences by emphasizing the importance of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening. The campaign aims to normalize conversations about CRC in community gathering places, fostering a culture of proactive health management.
In 2022, Exact Sciences launched Funding Opportunities for Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening Uptake Strategies, or the FOCUS Program, to advance this work in addressing disparities in cancer screening. The FOCUS Program provides funding to community organizations, health foundations, public health organizations and CRC advocacy groups to expand access to CRC screening and create affordable pathways to follow-up diagnostic care. This initiative reflects Exact Sciences’ ongoing commitment to meeting people where they are and supporting evidence-based solutions to overcome barriers to care, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender identity, socio-economic status or geographic location. To learn more about the FOCUS Program, visit our website.
A critical component of reducing cancer disparities is ensuring that cancer is detected at its earliest stages, when treatment is more likely to be successful. To achieve this, we must understand the health-related social needs of communities and innovate with intention, ensuring that everyone has access to the cancer prevention and early detection services they need.
We see great promise in new, innovative technologies, such as multi-cancer early detection tests, as a means to close the screening gaps that disproportionately affect medically underserved populations. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Prevent Cancer Foundation to address the disparities in cancer screening and detection among medically underserved and disproportionately impacted communities.