Colorectal Cancer: The latest research and guidance on risk, screening recommendations, and resources to support public health professionals

Note: This is a recording of a live webinar held on March 26, 2024.

Training Overview:

In 2024, an estimated 159,600 cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed in the US, and a total of 53,010 people will die from these cancers. Raising colorectal cancer screening rates is more critical than ever as incidence grows among people younger than 55 years of age. Even more concerning are recent findings that show colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in men and the second in women under 50 years old. This leads us to ask questions about why rates have gone up and what we should be looking for. This webinar will discuss current nutrition and colorectal cancer research being conducted through the American Cancer Society. It will also address the basics of colorectal cancer by touching on current guidelines and the importance of making this cancer an area of focus. The webinar will introduce the National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable and provide several resources available to public health practitioners.   

About the Presenters:

Caroline Um, PhD, MPH, RD, is a Principal Scientist in Population Science at the American Cancer Society (ACS). Her research focuses on understanding risk factors of colorectal and other gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular interest in colorectal cancer in younger populations. She first joined ACS as a postdoctoral fellow and investigated how various foods and nutrients are related to colorectal cancer risk. Now, to investigate the role of the gut and oral microbiomes in cancer risk and progression, she leads the CPS-3 Gut & Oral Microbiome Sub-Study, which has collected over 10,000 paired stool and saliva samples from participants of the CPS-3 cohort. Caroline received her BS and MPH degrees in Nutrition at the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill and her PhD in Nutrition at Emory University. 

Emily Bell, MPH, is the director of the American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable, a national coalition established by the American Cancer Society, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 1997. In this role she leads a number of projects that support the 80% in Every Community initiative, a movement in which more than 1,800 organizations are working toward the shared goal of reaching colorectal cancer screening rates of 80% and higher in communities across the nation. Having worked in the field of cancer prevention and control for over 15 years, she is passionate about improving the quality of health and health care for underrepresented communities. Emily received her master’s in public health from Boston University and lives in Salem, Massachusetts with her husband and two young children.

CERTIFICATE:  The course contains two modules: a module to access the webinar and an evaluation and resources module. After accessing these modules, learners will earn a certificate of completion.

This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number UB6HP31680, Public Health Training Centers for $4,348,992. This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.