The 2026-2030 Nevada Cancer Control Plan is a framework for Nevadans to take action in reducing the burden of cancer. Based on the most current data and scientific evidence, successes and lessons from previous cancer plans, and the contributions of dozens of individuals from across the state, this five-year plan provides a common set of goals spanning the cancer continuum with a focus on health equity throughout.
Goals
- Prevent cancer by reducing exposure to risk factors.
- Increase early detection of cancers to reduce late-stage diagnosis.
- Support access to high quality, affordable cancer care for all Nevadans.
- Promote and expand the use and knowledge of genetics as a risk factor for cancer.
- Improve quality of life for cancer survivors and their care partners.
- Provide high-quality data and proactive surveillance to support and inform cancer control efforts.
- Increase cancer research to improve cancer prevention, detection, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship.
- Improve access to quality care and supportive resources for children, adolescents and young adults impacted by cancer.
Plan Development, Implementation, and Evaluation
Nevada Cancer Coalition (NCC) is a non-profit collaboration of organizations and individuals dedicated to reducing the burden of cancer in our state. NCC, in partnership with Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Program, Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, and Nevada Central Cancer Registry, develops the plan, carries out various plan components, and evaluates the plan.
This plan was developed over the course of more than a year, beginning in March 2024 with a survey of coalition members to identify new and continuing priorities, opportunities, and challenges for cancer control in Nevada. A series of in-person and virtual meetings followed, bringing together clinical and public health professionals, survivors, advocates, and caregivers to refine the results of the survey, rank priorities, and provide insights. To secure additional feedback on communities disproportionately affected by cancer, smaller virtual meetings were held with representatives from tribal, rural, Black, and LGBTQ+ communities.
During NCC’s annual Cancer Control Summit in August 2024, attendees formed groups to discuss cross-cutting issues that influence cancer control in the state. This brainstorming session resulted in a more comprehensive understanding of how these issues affect cancer control, from risk through survivorship and end of life, and provided additional context for development of the plan’s objectives and strategies. Eight workgroups were formed, each working across a series of virtual statewide meetings to develop objectives, strategies, and indicators for the plan's goals and using data secured from the Nevada Central Cancer Registry. Once finalized, those goals, objectives, and strategies coalesced into this final plan. Throughout the process, a steering committee of cancer control leaders from across the state provided direction and support.
This plan embraces policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) change strategies – a way of modifying the environment to make healthy choices practical and available to everyone. By changing policies and systems, and shaping physical environments, communities can have larger impacts on health outcomes such as cancer and other chronic diseases with a relatively small investment of time and resources. Ultimately, an effective PSE approach should seek to enact broader level change and further cancer control within communities.
Policy, Systems, and Environmental (PSE) Change |
|---|
Policy Change: Involves creating or modifying laws, regulations, or organizational policies to support healthy behaviors and reduce cancer risk. Examples include tobacco-free workplace policies or legislation to increase access to cancer screenings. Often policy change is necessary before systems or environmental changes can be implemented. Systems Change: Focuses on altering the rules, structures, or processes within organizations or communities to improve cancer outcomes. This might involve integrating cancer screening into routine health care visits or using electronic reminders for vaccinations. Environmental Change: Modifies the physical or social environment to make healthy choices easier, such as building safe walking paths or increasing access to healthy foods. |
Objectives outlined in this plan were developed using a SMARTIE framework: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely, Inclusive, and Equity-minded. Each objective can be measured by one or more indicators with progress charted annually or over the plan’s five-year timeline. Baseline indicators use the most recently available data, and targets were established using one of three methods. Where available, U.S. data was included for comparison.
Annual percentage change: Some targets were set by calculating a 1% increase or decrease from the baseline per year for each year of the plan. This method can be seen in indicators such as screening rates.
National average: Some targets were set to bring Nevada’s measure to the same level as the current (plan development year) national average. This method was used in measures such as those for workforce development.
Reasonable estimate: Targets for indicators that are not rates or percentages and do not have an equivalent national measure were set using a reasonable estimate of what should or could be achieved within the timeframe. This was used for measures such as reports, resources, or educational opportunities.
Plan Implementation, Evaluation and Limiting Factors
As collaboration is at the core of comprehensive cancer control, cancer control partners, the coalition and its work groups, and community members are essential to successful implementation of the plan. Everyone has a role to play in decreasing the burden of cancer. If you’re inspired to act, you can:
- Join or volunteer with the Nevada Cancer Coalition Serve on a committee, task force, or collaborative group
- Work on implementing a cancer-related strategy
- Form a new action group or network
- Take care of your personal health, and encourage friends and family to do the same
- Champion effective wellness policies at your workplace or within your community
- Contact decision makers in your community and encourage them to use the plan to improve health outcomes
- Use the plan as a guide to develop organizational, community, or statewide policies
Evaluation of the plan is performed annually by the State of Nevada’s Comprehensive Cancer Control Program in partnership with Nevada Cancer Coalition, documenting progress, successes, and challenges for each objective. Through this annual evaluation, stakeholders can identify areas where greater emphasis needs to be applied to achieve objective targets, while also highlighting effective or ineffective strategies that may require modification to reach the desired outcome. The success of the evaluation depends, in part, on the ability to collect both quantitative and qualitative data on progress made over the course of each year.
The availability of data limits some evaluation. Consistent across all states, reported cancer data is delayed due to elapsed time for cancer registries to collect and report case data, update case information, and provide information to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or National Cancer Institute (NCI), and then for those entities to compile and disseminate said data. As such, 2022 and 2023 are the most recent years of incidence and mortality data available for this plan. Additionally, some data sources used to set indicators are only available every other year, limiting consistent annual evaluation for some measures.
Data limitations and challenges are discussed in greater depth in the cross-cutting issues section of the plan.
About Demographic Categories Used in This Plan
Nevada is a state with a rich diversity of people who have distinct cultures, preferences, experiences, and socioeconomic conditions. The nature of data collection, however, often does not completely delineate these differences, and we acknowledge that the data presented does not fully reflect the complexity of Nevada’s residents.
In some cases, data collection methods have not progressed in capturing or reporting certain characteristics, such as sexual orientation or gender identity. For decades, data has been collected, and guidelines have been developed using a gender binary—male or female—which has failed to account for transgender, non-binary, and other gender-diverse individuals. This binary framework may contribute to inaccurate screening, incidence, and mortality data, and assuredly results in research gaps, missed screenings, and barriers to care. We acknowledge that this does not fully reflect the lived experiences or identities of all individuals and advocate for more inclusive data collection and guideline practices moving forward.
Additionally, none of the racial and ethnic groups discussed in this report are monolithic. These broad categories often mask important differences within groups, such as the wide variation in cancer outcomes and access to care among subpopulations identified as Asian American. Individuals may also identify as more than one race or ethnicity, leading to less specific data or underrepresentation. This is often the case for Native Americans, who identify as two or more races more frequently than other groups, may consider their race over their indigenous identity, and may also be classified as Hispanic or Latino—all of which can result in their omission from Native American counts.
While aggregation of these categories is necessary to achieve sufficient sample sizes for meaningful analysis of cancer screening rates, incidence, and mortality, we urge partners to interpret and implement this plan within the unique context of their own communities.
Cancer Data: How It’s Collected and Where to Find It.
There are many types of data that Nevada uses to guide cancer control efforts, including cancer case data, risk factor and screening survey data, population demographics data, workforce and licensing data, and qualitative data gleaned from community assessments and individual feedback.
Cancer Case Data
The Nevada Central Cancer Registry gathers de-identified patient, diagnosis, and treatment data from hospitals, outpatient clinics, radiology departments, doctors’ offices, labs, and surgical centers to develop comprehensive, standardized cancer case records that are used for surveillance, research, and public health planning. Information submitted to the registry may include patient demographics, tumor characteristics, treatment information, outcomes, genomic data, and clinical trials participation. This data provides state incidence and mortality figures for all cancers and is aggregated at the national level to further aggregate, analyze, and publish cancer statistics for the entire U.S. population. Nevada’s data is available through the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Analytics. National cancer data is available through the SEER program, short for Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results, and is aggregated into tools such as CDC Wonder and SEER* Explorer.
Screening and Risk Factor Data
The CDC, for years, has conducted nationwide surveys to gather information from individuals in all states and territories on personal behaviors that may increase or decrease risk of disease and on screening behaviors. The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is one such survey conducted annually among adults that captures data on cancer-related measures such as smoking history, uptake of breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancer screening, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and nutrition. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), also spearheaded by the CDC, is a similar survey conducted among youth in middle and high school and capturing data on tobacco and substance use, physical activity and nutrition, dating violence, and other adverse childhood events. Nevada’s WebIZ is a statewide database that collects immunization data for children and adults, including collecting first and second dose administration of the HPV vaccine. Other Nevada-based data collection includes the Adult Tobacco Survey, Kindergarten Health Survey, and state-mandated height and weight data collection for Clark and Washoe County 4th and 7th grade students.
State Demographic, Health, and Workforce Data
The Nevada Office of Statewide Initiatives at the University of Nevada, Reno houses the Nevada Health Workforce Research Center which is focused on collecting and analyzing data on healthcare workforce supply and demand. The center collects data from provider licensing boards and associations, various state agencies, the U.S. Census Bureau, Veterans Health Administration, Health Resources and Services Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigations and many others. This data is aggregated into a variety of products including Nevada Instant Atlas, Nevada Rural and Frontier Health Data Book, Physician Workforce in Nevada, and Graduate Medical Education Trends in Nevada.
Other Data Sources of Note
CDC Places, CDC’s U.S. Cancer Statistics Data Visualizations, American Cancer Society Cancer Statistics Center