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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 10011991 - IO.3 I .O. -3 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Contra } FROM: INTERNAL OPERATIONS COMMITTEE Costa September 23 Count 1991 �y'`�° DATE: fr'�cuiin� SUBJECT: REPORT ON THE STATUS OF THE PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER IN CONTRA COSTA COUNTY SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS: 1. Request the Public Health Director to approach the Bay Area Cancer Coalition and ask that they consider appropriate ways in which to involve public policy-makers in the Bay Area (specifically city council members and members of boards of supervisors) with the current activities of the Coalition, the grant applications it has submitted and insure that they are made full and appropriate participants in the work of the Coalition. 2 . Request the Public Health Director to discuss with the Bay Area Cancer Coalition the possibility of expanding the study we have asked the National Cancer Institute to fund to include the Boston, Massachusetts area and include former Speaker of the House of Representatives "Tip" O'Neill in the proposed study, in view of his recent advocacy with Congress in support of more research into the causes of and cures for cancer. BACKGROUND: This is the most recent in our series of periodic reports on the status of efforts to design and obtain funding for a prospective study of the incidence of cancer in Contra Costa County. As the attached report from Dr. Wendel Brunner indicates, an application has been submitted to the National Cancer Institute for $50,000 to carry out the specific tasks outlined in Dr. Brunner' s CONTINUED ON ATTACHM94PP YES j SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUN A R RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OT SIGNATURE(S): SUNNE WRIGHT McPEAK ACTION OF BOARD ON ctober 1, 1991 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE X UNANIMOUS(ABSENT I , I I I ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE SHOWN. CC: ATTESTED October 1, 1991 County Administrator PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF Health Services Director SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Wendel Brunner, M.D. Public Health Director o M382 (10/86) BY DEPUTY I .O. -3 memorandum. Supervisor McPeak suggested the possibility of considering including the Boston area in an effort to interest former Speaker "Tip" O'Neill, who has been suffering from cancer and has been lobbying Congress to dedicate additional resources to cancer research and treatment. It has been some time since the public policy-makers in the Bay Area has been involved in the work of the Bay Area Cancer Coalition, which was established as a result of the very successful Bay Area Cancer Summit held in 1988. We believe that it is time again to involve the elected officials in the Bay Area in the activities of the Coalition, the grant applications it has submitted, the grants it has obtained and generally to insure that the elected officials are up-to-date and supportive of the work of the Coalition. The National Cancer Institute will be deciding in October whether to fund the $50,000 request from the Coalition which would finance the time of a half-time epidemiologist to develop a plan for comprehensive Bay Area cancer epidemiology studies and undertake other tasks as are outlined in Dr. Brunner' s memorandum. We were pleased to hear that NCI has agreed to fund the Breast and Cervical Cancer Intervention Study, although at a lower financial level than had been requested. Dr. Brunner also reported to us on the progress of the Bay Area Media Advocacy Project, including his involvement with the sports car effort being undertaken with the Sports Car Club of America which is designed to bring the anti-smoking campaign into the sports car racing arena. We commend the progress which is being made in this area and urge continued attention to this most vital area of work. SE _L Contra Costa County Health Services Department .7. PUBLIC HEALTH DIVISION Administrative Offices 597 Center Avenue �•'•Z ZZZZ Z Suite 200 Martinez,California 94553 ST'`t co TO: Internal Operations Committee Supervisor Sunne Wright McPeak Supervisor Robert I . Schroders FROM: Wendel Brunner, M.D. �J Assistant Health Services Director for Public Health DATE: September 23, 1991 SUBJECT: CANCER CONTROL INITIATIVES AND CANCER EPIDEMIOLOGY PROGRAMS We were asked to report on the progress of the Bay Area Cancer Coalition epidemiology initiatives and grant funding efforts , along with any current activities in the area of studies of cancer incidence in the Bay Area. Bay Area Cancer Epidemiology Project - We submitted a grant application to the National Cancer Institute on June 1st for $50, 000 to fund a half-time Ph.D. level epidemiologist to coordinate regional resources available for cancer epidemiology. If funded this project would: • Evaluate and integrate data available for Bay Area cancer epidemiology; • Develop a research advisory team with representatives from the primary cancer and research agencies in the Bay Area; • Promote opportunities for community involvement in cancer epidemiology; and e Develop a plan for comprehensive Bay Area cancer epidemiology studies . This proposal takes advantage of the extensive resources available in the Bay Area, including the California Tumor Registry, the State Department of Health Services Environmental Epidemiology Section, the Northern California Cancer Center, and the academic institutions . The proposal builds on the extensive linkages developed in the Bay Area for cancer epidemiology including the Bay Area Cancer Coalition, and involves governmental regulatory agencies such as the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. A372 (7/91) This proposal is somewhat different than those usually presented to the National Cancer Institute. There are nine letters of support, however, representing the major cancer epidemiology agencies in Northern California, as well as the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. We think this is an innovative proposal with some chance for success . The National Cancer Institute will make its decision in October. Breast and Cervical Cancer Intervention Study (BACCIS) - The Bay Area Cancer Coalition Breast and Cervical Cancer Intervention Study has been approved for funding by the National Cancer Institute. They will not fund the full amount, however, and we are in the process of negotiating a revised budget with the NCI . The BACCIS proposal will include a community intervention component in Contra Costa County to enhance breast and cervical cancer screening, particularly among minority women. The project will not begin until January, 1992 . Bay Area Media Advocacy Project (BAMAP) - This is a project of the Bay Area Cancer Coalition funded under a $580 , 000 grant from the State Health Services Department for a tobacco control initiative involving regional media advocacy. This project also involves an innovative collaborative effort with the Sports Car Club of America to bring the anti-smoking campaign into the traditionally tobacco industry-sponsored sports car racing arena. I am pleased to report that the Bay Area Cancer Coalition sponsored car, the Tobacco Free Challenge, is well on its way towards winning the championship in combined points in its class, an event that will attract considerable media attention. In the area of tobacco advocacy, BACC sponsored a press conference opposing SB 376 , the tobacco lobby pre-emption bill, that would have nullified the updated Contra Costa County Model Tobacco Ordinance. The BACC press conference in combination with other publicity killed SB 376 , at least for this year, opening the way for the adoption of the Contra Costa County Model Tobacco Ordinance. Current Cancer Epidemiology Studies in Contra Costa County - We are currently working with the California Tumor Registry and the Environmental Epidemiology Study Section of the Department of Health Services on two studies of cancer rates in Contra Costa County. One of these is in the Danville area, where a reported cluster of cancer cases among students graduating from Monte Vista High has caused us to evaluate the rate of cancer among young adults in a number of census tracts in the Danville area. We have also sent a questionnaire to 23 young adults diagnosed with cancer, in an effort to find any possible common links among the cases . We are also working with the tumor registry on a second project to evaluate childhood cancer rates in various parts of Contra Costa County. WB:ah