The Delaware Cancer Consortium presented its five year action plan during its 2022 virtual retreat.

And the Division of Public Health’s section chief for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Helen Arthur says healthy living initiatives among its key components.

“Because so much of what drives chronic diseases like cancer involves healthy eating and active living, promoting healthy lifestyles will be a center message moving forward in all that we do,” said Arthur.

Each of the Cancer Consortium’s 5 committees and subcommittees will be given specific goals and objectives to tackle over the next five years.

The committees include the Advisory Council, the Early Detection and Prevention Committee, the Cancer Risk Reduction Committee, the Delaware Cancer Registry Advisory Committee, and the Healthy Lifestyles Subcommittee.

The common goal of each committee is reducing cancer risk for Delawareans.

In addition to healthy living initiatives, those objectives include focusing on cultural inclusivity and health disparity initiatives and equitable messaging.

The consortium’s five year plan – along with new Delaware cancer federal grant programming – serves as the State of Delaware’s cancer plan.

This is the fifth, five year plan the Consortium has created for Delaware. Since the group was formed, Delaware has dropped from second nationally for cancer death rate to 15th.

Along with revealing their action plan, the retreat also included a special tribute to the former Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who died last November.

Minner was Delaware’s first woman governor, serving two terms from 2001 to 2009.

Gov John Carney served as Minner’s Lieutenant Governor and says her legacy includes major contributions to the long term health of Delawareans.

Quinn Kirkpatrick

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Delaware Public Media

“At a time when most people were afraid to say the word, Governor Minner brought cancer to the forefront of discussions among members of the medical community, funders in private and public sectors, local service organizations, and at the family dinner table,” explained Carney. “She integrated her personal passion for the cause and love for all Delawareans to introduce, implement, and expand some of the most aggressive actions in the state.”

Minner’s signature achievement was Delaware’s Clean Indoor Air Act, which Carney called the most comprehensive indoor smoking legislation in the country.

She also signed the resolution creating the Delaware Advisory Council on Cancer Incidence and Mortality, the predecessor of the Delaware Cancer Consortium.

The full five year plan can be found on the DCC’s website at www.healthydelaware.org.

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Originally Appeared Here