Fight Colorectal Cancer Alongside Patient Advocacy and Business Leaders Meet with the White House to Address Colorectal Cancer Screening Needs

Springfield, Mo., July 20, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Earlier this year, President Joe Biden announced plans to reignite the Cancer Moonshot with renewed leadership and new ambitious goals to “end cancer as we know it.” As part of this effort, the President and First Lady Jill Biden have issued a call to action to prioritize progress on cancer screening and to ensure that all Americans benefit from advances in cancer prevention. In response, the national nonprofit advocacy organization Fight Colorectal Cancer (Fight CRC) convened a group of colorectal cancer (CRC) patient advocacy and business leaders to answer that call. On July 25, 2022, the White House will be hosting Fight CRC and this group to discuss ways all of the stakeholders can work together to improve and increase access to CRC screening.

These patient advocacy and business leaders are choosing to come together to support efforts that speak to their shared commitment to helping increase access to CRC screening for all Americans. The group will explore both policy solutions and ideas for public-private partnerships that will help meet the President’s Cancer Moonshot goals.  

The challenge is clear: in the U.S., only 69% of adults between the ages of 50 and 75 are up to date with CRC screening, and in Federally Qualified Health Centers, the largest providers of care to underinsured and uninsured individuals, only 44% of the population is up to date. The decline in colorectal cancer screenings were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2020 analysis by Komodo Health and Fight CRC found that the total number of colonoscopies and biopsies declined nearly 90% in April 2020 compared to the same period of 2019. Despite the availability of several safe and effective CRC screening options, CRC remains the No. 2 overall cancer killer for men and women combined, with communities of color seeing even higher incidence and mortality rates.  

“This is the first time a group like this has come together to align on a shared goal,” said Anjee Davis, Fight CRC President. “This workgroup is a response to a ‘moonshot.’ The challenges facing CRC screening and prevention may seem insurmountable. But this group has the opportunity to go beyond incremental change. I believe we can strive for radical changes to provide access to screening and care for every community in our country.” 

Participants in the White House Meeting: 

Carolyn “Bo” Aldigé – Prevent Cancer Foundation, Founder 
Alexey Aleshin, MD, MBA – Natera, General Manager, Early Cancer Detection
Andrew Barnell, MBA – Geneoscopy Inc., CEO and Co-Founder
Danielle Carnival, PhD – White House Cancer Moonshot, Coordinator 
Austin Chiang, MD, MPH – Medtronic, CMO Gastrointestinal
Kevin Conroy – Exact Sciences, Chairman and CEO
Erin Darbouze, MPH – Fight Colorectal Cancer, Health Policy Manager
Anjee Davis, MPPA – Fight Colorectal Cancer, President
Richard Goldberg, MD – Fight Colorectal Cancer, Board Member
Greg Hamilton, MBA – Epigenomics, CEO
Lisa Lacasse, MBA – American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), President
David Lieberman, MD, AGAF – American Gastroenterological Association, Former President
Molly McDonnell – Fight Colorectal Cancer, Director of Advocacy  
Arif Nathoo, MD, MPA – Komodo Health, Co-Founder and CEO
Angela Nicholas, MD – Fight Colorectal Cancer, Board Chair
Mike Nolan, MBA – Freenome, CEO
AmirAli Talasaz, PhD – Guardant Health, Co-Founder and Co-CEO
Catharine Young, PhD – Assistant Director for Cancer Moonshot Engagement and Policy

“This group is dreaming big around how a public-private partnership can reach everyone from prevention to treatment,” said Davis. “There are still 44 million people who need to be screened.”