This message was sent to ##Email## May 23, 2019     Home  |   About   Subscribe  |   Archive  |   Advertise   College supports reauthorization of the Breast Cancer Awareness Stamp The American College of Surgeons (ACS) endorsed legislation introduced May 14, the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2019, H.R. 2689/S. 1438. In 1998, breast cancer surgeon Ernie Bodai, MD, FACS, launched a campaign to create the Breast Cancer Research Stamp. Since then, more than one billion stamps have been sold in the U.S., raising more than $89 million for cutting-edge breast cancer research. The current authorization of the stamp expires this year, putting critical research and development at risk. The Breast Cancer Research Stamp is available for U.S. Postal Service (USPS) customers to purchase for 10 cents above the cost of regular first-class postage. The stamp’s revenues cover USPS’ administrative costs and fund breast cancer research programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Because the Breast Cancer Research Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2019 is budget neutral, no additional spending is required. “Incredible progress in the treatment of breast cancer is due to the cancer community uniting and supporting funding to create a stable foundation for research in the battle against this disease,” said Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS, Medical Director, ACS Cancer Programs. “The breast cancer research stamp has raised millions of dollars for the NIH and the Medical Research Program at the DoD. The continuation of the stamp is a way for all Americans to fight breast cancer in their day-to-day lives.” Read the ACS support letters to both the House and the Senate, and encourage your members of Congress to support this legislation by visiting the SurgeonsVoice web page. For more information about this legislation or to issues related to cancer care, contact Kristin McDonald, Manager, ACS Legislative and Political Affairs, at kmcdonald@facs.org. CAnswer Forum Live scheduled for June 26 CAnswer Forum Live is a 60-minute webinar open to staff at current and prospective Commission on Cancer (CoC), National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) and National Accreditation Program for Rectal Centers (NAPRC) programs. The next webinar will take place on June 26, 2019. Please submit your CoC, NAPBC and NAPRC standards-related questions by June 19. You can register today for this event. Go to CAnswer Forum Live to learn more about CAnswer Forum Live and to access recordings of the January 23 and March 27 broadcasts. For additional information, contact Sue Rubin at srubin@facs.org. NAPRC calling for Fellows to serve on governance committees The National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer (NAPRC) is making its inaugural call for ACS Fellows to populate its governance committees. The NAPRC was launched in late 2017 to help ensure that patients with rectal cancer receive appropriate care using a multidisciplinary approach. The Executive Committee will be the oversight body of the NAPRC with three standing committees focused on specific aspects and goals of the program. The Accreditation Committee will maintain and enforce accreditation standards development and survey processes, the Education Committee will create and disseminate education related to NAPRC standards and the Quality Committee will continuously monitor and refine quality metrics according to evidence-based findings. Other committee members include representatives from the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, the College of American Pathologists, the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract and the Society of Surgical Oncology. Applicants must be ACS Fellows or Associate Fellows treating rectal cancer patients in a Commission on Cancer-accredited facility that is actively working toward NAPRC accreditation. Interested individuals should submit a CV and a one-page letter of interest and summary of qualifications to naprc@facs.org by June 15, 2019. For more information for applying for NAPRC committee membership, please visit the ACS Committee Opportunities webpage and click on “NAPRC Governance Committees.” For more information on the NAPRC, please visit the NAPRC website.    SERVICE SHOWCASE Advertisement Help Doctors Without Borders Today Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is actively recruiting general and trauma surgeons with experience in emergency obstetrics for international missions in developing countries. Learn more ACS committee opportunities The American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) and Clinical Research Program (CRP) depend on volunteers from their diverse membership to drive the mission and initiatives of the organization and the surgical profession. Serving on a CoC or CRP committee is a great way to contribute to program initiatives, network with colleagues, advance into leadership positions and contribute to improvements in cancer patient care. The ACS Committee Opportunities web page includes information about those ACS committees, including the CoC and CRP, that are looking for new surgeon members to serve. Visit the ACS Committee Opportunities web page for details on what’s involved and how to apply. The deadline for applications is May 31, 2019. Free NCSD materials from the Cancer Programs All ACS-accredited cancer, breast and rectal centers are encouraged to observe National Cancer Survivors’ Day (NCSD) on June 2, 2019. To help you, the Cancer Programs have created a poster and graphics that can be used to promote this important day within your community and your program. The materials are available on the Marketing Resources page, which can be accessed from the Commission on Cancer Datalinks web page and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers portal. For more ideas on how to celebrate National Cancer Survivors’ Day, visit the NCSD website. Register today for the 2019 ACS Quality and Safety Conference Registration for the 2019 ACS Quality and Safety Conference is now open. This year’s conference will be held in Washington, DC, July 19–22 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. For more information on the program agenda, meeting/events schedule, registration fees, lodging, transportation, preconference workshops and to review our official press release, please visit the Quality and Safety Conference website. Cancer Programs staff on the road Make sure you meet the Cancer Programs staff at the Cancer Programs booth during the following conferences: ASCO Annual, May 31–June 4 in Chicago American Society for Colon and Rectal Surgeons, June 1–5 in Cleveland Please stop by and learn what’s new from the Cancer Programs.     .  SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT Advertisement      ACS CANCER PROGRAMS UPDATES ACS CRP General surgery resident scholarship opportunity to attend ACS-CRP didactic course “Designing and Running a Prospective Surgical Clinical Trial” The American College of Surgeons Clinical Research Program (ACS CRP) is pleased to offer a limited number of scholarships to general surgery residents who are interested in attending the didactic course “Designing and Running a Prospective Surgical Clinical Trial” at the upcoming ACS Clinical Congress in San Francisco, CA. This course is being held on Sunday, October 27 from 8:30 am PT to 4:00 pm PT at the Moscone Center. The course is designed to teach the methodology of design and implementation of a clinical trial for surgeons interested in developing and leading a prospective trial. This scholarship award of $290 is available to ACS Resident and Associate Society members and must be used to cover the registration cost for the didactic course. This award would be paid following confirmation of course attendance. Applications are due by June 30, 2019. Application requirements: Applicant must be a Resident Member of the College. Applicant must submit a letter of recommendation from his or her program director. Applicant must submit a brief letter of interest (no longer than one page) explaining why this opportunity interests him or her, what he or she hopes to gain from it, and how he or she plans to utilize the knowledge obtained. If you are interested in applying, please e-mail your letter of recommendation along with a brief summary of why you would like to attend to ACS CRP staff at with the subject line: ACS Clinical Congress Didactic Course Scholarship Application. Be sure to include your name, facility name, city, state, e-mail address and phone number. Scholarships will not be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. A selection committee will review each request and award scholarships based on the level of interest expressed by the applicant. Scholarship recipients will be announced by July 15 in order to provide ample time to take advantage of early-bird registration and make travel arrangements. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact ACS CRP staff.    SPONSORED CONTENT Advertisement Promoted by InformedDNA Cracking the Code: CPT Coding Inaccuracies Lead to Inefficient Authorization for Genetic Testing Provider Outreach Facilitates Better Outcomes for Prior Authorizations of Genetic Testing Genetic Counseling Referral Guide Rebecca Sutphen, MD, FACMG, shares advice on when genetic counseling is beneficial for patients    CoC NEWS Provide feedback on revised CoC Standards The Commission on Cancer (CoC) has been undergoing a project to analyze and revise the standards for CoC accreditation. Your feedback is vital to ensuring the standards are as clear and meaningful as possible. A current draft of the revised CoC standards is now posted on the CoC website. We are encouraging everyone interested to submit feedback/questions on any or all of the standards through designated surveys. Feedback can only be accepted through the specified survey links provided on the website. To download a copy of the draft standards and to submit feedback, please visit facs.org/cocstandardsfeedback. Feedback will be accepted until Monday, June 3. Please share this link with any of your colleagues who may be interested. Participate in the CoC-sponsored survey on patient navigation As a member organization of the American Cancer Society National Navigation Roundtable, the Commission on Cancer (CoC) is partnering to administer this important survey of navigators (all types, including community, patient navigators, nurse and social work navigators) and program administrators to identify the challenges, successes and barriers to the implementation of cancer patient navigation metrics. The results of this survey will help to identify needed tools and resources for navigators and navigation programs in an effort to support their program. This survey will take 15 to 20 minutes of your time. Your feedback is extremely important, and your responses are completely anonymous. The survey is an open link, so please forward it to other appropriate individuals. The survey will close on June 7, 2019. If you have any questions about the survey, please contact national.navigation.roundtable@cancer.org.  NAPBC NEWS NAPBC Clarifications, Reminders, and Frequently Asked Questions National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers (NAPBC) leadership and staff have been hard at work collating NAPBC centers’ frequently asked questions into one easy-to-use resource! NAPBC Clarifications, Reminders, and Frequently Asked Questions addresses questions regularly received from NAPBC centers. For example, it provides guidance about which nurses Standard 2.14 (Nursing) applies to and which type of providers are required to provide documentation for Standard 5.1 (Breast Care Team Education). You may access this document within the NAPBC Portal (under resources) and in the NAPBC Accreditation Resources and FAQs section of the NAPBC website. If you have any questions regarding the interpretation of NAPBC standards, please be sure to post your question to the NAPBC section of the CAnswer Forum. New Appointments to the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers The National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers Board is pleased to announce the appointment of the following new members who have been appointed to an initial, three-year term: Arnold Baskies, MD, FACS is a surgical oncologist from Virtua Health System in NJ representing the American Cancer Society Colleen McCarthy, MD is a plastic surgeon from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in NY representing the American Society of Plastic Surgeons Bruce Haffty, MD is a radiation oncologist from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey representing the American Society of Clinical Oncology Vered Stearns, MD is a medical oncologist from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD representing the American Society of Clinical Oncology    PRODUCT SHOWCASE Advertisement The Transcutaneous Intraoperative (TQI) Doppler The VTI TQI Doppler system, with its disposable probes, provides a reliable solution for transcutaneous and invasive assessment of vasculature during surgery. In reconstructive applications, the TQI system allows for perioperative localization of perforators, assessment of pedicle anastamosis, as well as assessment of flap viability.  HEALTH CARE NEWS AND UPDATES Low-fat diet with more fruits and vegetables may decrease risk of dying from breast cancer USA Today Women who lowered the fat in their diets while eating healthier foods had a lower risk of dying from breast cancer than those with higher-fat diets, new long-term research says. In a federally funded clinical trial of nearly 49,000 women ages 50 to 79, researchers found women who reduced the fat in their diets to 25% or less and added more fruits, vegetables and grains had a 21% lower risk of death from breast cancer.  READ MORE Newer breast screening technology may spot more cancers Harvard University If you're in your 40s, you may want to consider switching from digital mammography to digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) for your next breast cancer screening, say the authors of a study published online February 28 by JAMA Oncology. A review of more than 170,000 screening mammograms using the two technologies determined that DBT — sometimes referred to as 3D mammography — did a better job at accurately detecting cancers in women of all ages.  READ MORE Frequency of chemotherapy, medication desensitization Oncology Nurse Advisor Desensitization refers to the process of starting a medication in very low amounts and gradually increasing the dose. Patients may be hospitalized and also receive premedications to reduce the risk of a severe reaction. Desensitization may be done for patients at risk for significant allergic reactions to medications but no acceptable alternative is available, for example penicillin or, for chemotherapy, platinum agents.  READ MORE Insights into brigatinib's rare side effects may help more lung cancer patients benefit from the drug CU Anschutz Medical Campus via Medical Xpress Brigatinib is a next-generation ALK inhibitor that earned FDA approval in 2017 as a second-line therapy after treatment with crizotinib for ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer. Recently, clinical trial results published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented at the 2018 World Conference on Lung Cancer show its promise as a first-line therapy. However, while brigatinib is commonly well-tolerated, in about 3% of cases, patients report experiencing shortness of breath within hours of starting treatment.  READ MORE Lung cancer screening using Google AI proves to be successful News-Medical Google Artificial Intelligence researchers have developed an algorithm that can detect lung cancers with a 94.4 percent success rate. The results of the study titled, “End-to-end lung cancer screening with three-dimensional deep learning on low-dose chest computed tomography,” were published in the journal Nature Medicine on the 20th of May 2019.  READ MORE  IMPORTANT DATES AND DEADLINES Date Event May 31 ACS Committee Opportunities application deadline June 2 National Cancer Survivors Day June 3 CoC Draft Standard Feedback Opportunity Closes June 5-7 AOSW Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ June 7 Deadline for CoC-Sponsored Survey on Patient Navigation June 15 ACS Call for NAPRC Fellows Closes June 26 CAnswer Forum Live July 19-22 ACS Quality and Safety Conference, Washington, DC Oct. 1-31 National Breast Cancer Awareness Month Oct. 27-31 ACS Clinical Congress, San Francisco, CA Nov. 21.22 Commission on Cancer Educational Summit, Rosemont, IL   The Brief Connect with AJCC Connect with CoC Connect with NAPBC Recent Issues | Subscribe | Unsubscribe | Advertise | Web Version  Colby Horton, Vice President of Publishing, 469-420-2601 | Download media kit Ashley Harrington, Senior Content Editor, 469-420-2642 | Contribute news Disclaimer: The Brief is a digest of news selected for the American College of Surgeons Cancer Programs from thousands of sources by the editors of MultiBriefs, an independent organization that also manages and sells advertising. The American College of Surgeons and Cancer Programs do not endorse any of the advertised products and services. Opinions expressed in the articles are those of the authors and not of the American College of Surgeons, and the Cancer Programs. American College of Surgeons 633 N Saint Clair Street | Chicago, IL, 60611-3211  | 800-621-4111 | Contact Us  Learn how to add us to your safe sender list so our emails get to your inbox. 7701 Las Colinas Ridge, Ste. 800, Irving, TX 75063