Colorectal Cancer Alliance Offers Support Hub for Patients, Survivors & Caregivers
Throughout 2024, Real World Health Care will be shining a spotlight on non-profit organizations that are working to end cancer as we know it by participating in the Cancer Moonshot Initiative coordinated through the White House. In this Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month edition, we focus on the Colorectal Cancer Alliance, the nation’s leading non-profit dedicated to colorectal cancer.
We spoke with Marianne Pearson, Senior Director of Patient Navigation, about how the Alliance is supporting patients with its programs and services – including its BlueHQ support hub recently recognized by Cancer Moonshot Initiative – as well as the Alliance’s plans for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Cancer Moonshot Addresses Common Goals
Real World Health Care: How did the Colorectal Cancer Alliance get involved in the White House’s Cancer Moonshot initiative? How does Cancer Moonshot align with the Alliance’s goals?
Marianne Pearson
Marianne Pearson: The Alliance has always been a proponent of the White House Cancer Moonshot Initiative because we hope to achieve the same goal of reducing cancer deaths. We’re further aligned on the goals of advocating for prevention, creating access and proper care, magnifying support, and accelerating research to eradicate cancer.
We were honored to be recognized by the White House last year for launching BlueHQ, a comprehensive support hub for colorectal cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. In addition, last March, at the White House Cancer Moonshot Colorectal Cancer Forum, Alliance CEO, Michael Sapienza, participated in the Colorectal Cancer Screening and Prevention Panel to emphasize that colorectal cancer is one of the most preventable cancers with timely screening. More recently, we launched Project Cure CRC, an initiative to invest tens of millions of dollars in colorectal cancer research over the next two years to accelerate our mission of ending the disease in our lifetime.
Personalized Colorectal Cancer Resources
RWHC: How does BlueHQ work?
MP: BlueHQ is an all-inclusive colorectal cancer support hub with personalized resources, tools, and communities for patients and caregivers. It helps patients and caregivers navigate treatment and survivorship, connect with people who understand, and find the right information. It is the best way to learn, connect, and take action to improve colorectal cancer outcomes. I would like to highlight several key elements of the program.
- Resources: BlueHQ suggests helpful information and resources that align with a patient’s exact profile, including a clinical trial finder.
- Community: BlueHQ connects patients with thousands of allies with similar experiences. It helps patients and caregivers find a community—the people who understand.
- Notes: Patients and caregivers can safely and securely store notes from appointments, track things at home, or use BlueHQ as a private journal. It offers the ability to look back (sorting by type of info or date) or share notes history with caregivers or a medical team.
Colorectal Cancer Screening and Prevention
RWHC: What are other things the Alliance is doing to address the spirit of the Cancer Moonshot?
MP: Our screening and prevention care programs focus on preventing colorectal cancer and identifying cancer at as early a stage as possible by early screening mechanisms. We have low-cost or no-cost screening navigation that helps streamline and reduce barriers to care by providing colonoscopies or in-home kits for free or at low cost to the community.
We also have relationships with other non-profits and industry partners who support and focus on prevention in communities most at risk, thus providing more resources and support to reduce the barriers to patients receiving screenings.
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month
RWHC: How can people engage with the Alliance and the colorectal cancer community during Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month?
MP: This March marks an important milestone for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance as we celebrate our 25th anniversary of positive impact on March 18. We plan to recognize this important date in our March efforts and throughout the year.
During National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month in March, we have several initiatives planned to help spread awareness and education about the disease. We will be promoting prevention and screening awareness through traditional and social media outreach, encouraging people to learn more about risk factors, symptoms, and screening options at quiz.getscreened.org, where they can take an easy quiz that provides a personalized screening recommendation. We will also encourage patients and caregivers to visit colorectalcancer.org and BlueHQ.org for colorectal cancer resources and support.
Another significant effort we are working on for March is the Alliance’s largest awareness and fundraising walk event of the year, ScopeItOut. This year’s ScopeItOut will take place on Sunday, March 24, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. There will also be a Coast-to-Coast ScopeItOut, which is a live, virtual broadcast of the event, so that anyone across the nation can participate in this walk to end colorectal cancer. To learn more and register visit www.scopeitout.org
Patient-Centered Programs
RWHC: What are some other Alliance programs and services you would like to highlight?
MP: We focus our cancer care programs on the top identified concerns of patients and families going through cancer such as financial, emotional, social, and access to care/barriers to care. We tailor our programs and support to meet the individual needs of those who contact the Alliance via our helpline, online communities, or by direct referral.
A few highlights include:
- LIVE NAVIGATION: The Alliance provides free access to a team of certified patient and family support navigators. People can connect with them on our toll-free Helpline at (877) 422-2030 and via our web chats.
- BUDDY PROGRAM: No one should face colorectal cancer alone, and our Buddy Program makes sure no one must. The Alliance hand-matches patients and caregivers with a buddy who has had similar experiences.
- ONLINE CHATS: An easy way to connect with others who share similar experiences is in our online chat room.
- BLUE HOPE NATION: Blue Hope Nation is the Alliance’s Facebook support group, where users share stories, ask for insight, and provide tips based on their experiences.
- FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: The Alliance’s Blue Hope Treatment Awards Program provides eligible patients with a one-time $200 check to help with daily expenses that add to their burden during treatment.
- RESOURCE GUIDES: The Alliance’s frequently updated Support and Financial Resource Guide is an extensive collection of helpful resources and organizations for those experiencing colorectal cancer.
- COLORECTAL CANCER ALLIANCE CLINICAL TRIAL FINDER: Clinical trials let patients tap into promising new therapies while being closely monitored by doctors. The Alliance’s colorectal cancer clinical trial finder tool offers a personalized list of trials based on a patient’s inputs. It also guides users through the search and enrollment process.
- PERSONALIZED TREATMENT PROGRAM: This program provides personalized treatment options to patients, giving stage III and IV patients access to the most effective treatment options and experts to help with planning — all at no cost.
- AllyCon: AllyCon is the Alliance’s national conference for patients, survivors, caregivers, and family members to connect. AllyCon welcomes experts from across the cancer care continuum to provide allies with the latest updates in treatments, research, and tips to make the cancer journey a little easier.