1. “changing lives one community at a time”
The Collegiate Cancer Council
“changing lives one community at a time”
Good Afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Ahmed Al-Kalla and I am the Founder and Former President of the Collegiate Cancer Council’s University of Houston Charter Chapter and the Founder and Director of the Collegiate Cancer Council’s National Office.
Presented by: Ahmed Khair T. Al-Kalla
ACS - 04/19/2007

2. After attending this session, you should be able to:
Describe the process for establishing a Collegiate Cancer Council (CCC);
Articulate the importance of CCCs as a mechanism for policy endeavors, cancer education, and cancer workforce;
Apply the concepts learned in the session to develop CCCs in your community; and
Summarize how CCCs can be used as an effective mechanism to increase cancer prevention and control.
What I will attempt to do this afternoon is introduce to you the Collegiate Cancer Council; which is the first nationally recognized, student-led, student based organization in the United States. After this session, I hope you will be able to do the following four things:
Describe the process for establishing a Collegiate Cancer Council (CCC);
Articulate the importance of CCCs as a mechanism for policy endeavors, cancer education, and cancer workforce;
Apply the concepts learned in the session to develop CCCs in your community; and
Summarize how CCCs can be used as an effective mechanism to increase cancer prevention and control.

3. Goals of the CCC:
Educate the public about cancer prevention and associated health disparities;
Influence policy to reduce cancer morbidity, mortality, and health disparities;
Promote careers in cancer control among all students and disciplines.
The CCC has many dreams, aspirations, and stars it wants to reach; however, it tailors all those dreams, aspirations, and stars into the following three goals:
TO Educate the public about cancer prevention and associated health disparities;
Educate ourselves on existing health knowledge and practices to prevent cancer
Try to Understand the causes and pursue solutions to reduce health disparities
And Work with community leaders to reach at-risk populations with potentially lifesaving information
TO Influence policy to reduce cancer morbidity, mortality, and health disparities;
Educate ourselves on existing health policies that are known to influence public health and access to quality cancer care
Try to Understand the causes and pursue solutions to reduce health disparities through public policy
And Work with community leaders in local, state, and federal government to effect positive changes
Promote careers in cancer control among all students and disciplines both at the undergraduate and high school level
Educate ourselves on the breadth and depth of career opportunities in cancer
Try to Understand the causes and solutions of the workforce shortages and low representation of minorities in the health workforce
And Work with students and campus leaders at the undergraduate and high school level to encourage careers in cancer
Please keep in mind that all of this is being done by undergraduates with the collaboration of the Intercultural Cancer Council and C-Change.

4. Describe the process for establishing a CCC
Step 1: Requesting Permission to Establish a CCC Chapter
Step 2: Requesting Permission to Establish a Student Organization on your Campus
Step 3: Developing your Organization
So, how does one go about starting a chapter of the CCC? The first step that a student or group of students must take is request permission from the National Office, located at Baylor College of Medicine and sponsored by the Intercultural Cancer Council. Once, we have the necessary paper work, which is provided to you on our national website/CD, we then ask you, the student requesting the establishment of this chapter, to go to your respective institution and request from the Student Activities Governing Board, at your school, to recognize you as a Campus Student Organization. After this has been done, and the paper work has exchanged hands, then you begin the planning and implementation of your events, meetings, etc. This process should not take any longer than one month.

5. Articulate the importance of CCCs as a mechanism for:
Policy Endeavors
Cancer Education
Cancer Workforce
With cancer as one of the leading health concerns of citizens and health professionals in the United States, there is a great demand on the health workforce of our nation and a strong need to recruit and train future researchers, practitioners and other professionals to work in cancer prevention and control. College campuses present a unique opportunity to educate future leaders regarding all aspects of the cancer continuum (prevention, screening, treatment) and to engage others in the campus communities whose lives have been affected by cancer. The CCC allows students to raise awareness concerning cancer issues with their fellow students and members of the community. While some aspects of each CCC, across the country, may be distinct and unique to their campus communities, they all share one agenda across the nation.

6. CCCs represent an efficient and effecting mechanism to promote careers in cancer control while engaging students in community-based educational endeavors.
The CCC represents an efficient and effecting mechanism to promote careers in cancer control while engaging students in community-based educational endeavors.

7. Summarize how CCCs can be used as an effective mechanism to increase cancer prevention and control
Increases recruitment potential for the cancer control workforce by educating students on multi-disciplinary opportunities;
Increases awareness of cancer risks and issues among an at risk population (primarily students aged 18-24);
Increases awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care through student run outreach initiatives; and
Engages community members, faculty, and staff in communities served by the CCC campuses as advocates and allies in the cancer control movement.
The issues that are addressed through engaging students at our nation’s campuses have multiple levels of impact, some are:
Increasing recruitment potential for the cancer control workforce;
Increasing awareness of cancer risks and issues among an at risk population;
Increasing awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in cancer care; and
Engaging community members, faculty, and staff in communities served as advocates and allies in the cancer control movement

8. Careers in Cancer Speaker’s Kit
The toolkit (available by CD and on the web) has been continuously and actively promoted by C-Change and the National Partnership for Comprehensive Cancer Control to a national audience of state cancer control coalitions and private, public, and nonprofit cancer organizations.
The toolkit, which is a CD that has all the resources and education material needed to start these chapters, was sponsored by C-Change to be made. It is a toolkit that has been continuously and actively promoted by C-Change and the National Partnership for Comprehensive Cancer Control to a national audience of state cancer control coalitions and private, public, and nonprofit cancer organizations.

9. I encourage you to visit C-Change’s Speaker’s Kit: www.speakerskit.org
Moreover, the updated version, which will include a promotional video, will be ready in June of this year.
The new kits with video will be available June 2007.

10. I encourage you to visit the CCC National Website:
ccc.iccnetwork.org
What is unique about the CCC initiative is the emphasis on establishing a student run organization on campus for those interested in and committed to - be they students, faculty, staff, or community members - learn more about cancer prevention and control. This initiative provides an infrastructure that is a strong foundation for other cancer control organizations to call upon in times of need. The CCC provides a mechanism for a lasting partnership between the local affiliates of national partners, thereby providing an ongoing mechanism for collaboration.
We are certain that this network of motivated, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable students will not only be leaders in cancer prevention control tomorrow, but also will have significant impact in our world today, by “changing lives one community at a time.”
So now that you have heard all of this, I leave you with this action item:
Take this…Take what you have heard today and share it with students that look up to you as mentors. Make sure you pass by the ICC’s booth, pick up the CD, and give it to those students that see you as a mentor and challenge them to start a chapter.
Can you imagine the emotions and self-accomplishment a student feels in during something like this? I can. I was in that position 2 years ago! Moreover, I continue to thank my mentors for challenging me in doing something like this.
I hope that you will enjoy the video that we are about to play and know that this video will be used to help promote this initiative.
Again thank you for your consideration.
Special Thanks to:
The American Cancer Society
The Intercultural Cancer Council
C-Change