While people living in smaller, more rural towns in Georgia may have been able to visit their primary care provider on a regular basis, they may not have a choice for specialized care when that family doctor delivers the news, “You have cancer.” And numerous research studies have shown just how vital access to cancer care closer to home can be in giving someone a better chance at surviving their cancer. This is why multiple teams working inside the Georgia Cancer Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University are committed to closing care gaps across Georgia.

This desire to make cancer prevention and quality cancer treatment available to communities in need, to close the cancer care gap, is shared by cancer care organizations and communities across the globe and is the theme for World Cancer Day 2023. World Cancer Day, created on February 4, 2000, at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris, is an initiative of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). In addition to adoption of World Cancer Day, the Paris Charter “aims to promote research, prevent cancer, improve patient services, raise awareness and mobilize the global community to make progress against cancer.” “Close the Care Gap” addresses barriers to prevention and promotes access to cancer risk reduction resources and services.

Join Chris Curry for this episode of "A Cancer Conversation" as he discusses ways the Georgia Cancer Center is working to "Close the Care Gap" with Dr. Jorge Cortes, director of the Georgia Cancer Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, and Maryclaire Regan, a member of the Cancer Center's Cancer Information and Awareness program.

Learn more about World Cancer Day: https://www.worldcancerday.org/

Learn more about the Cancer Center's Cancer Information and Awareness program: https://www.augusta.edu/cancer/community/information-and-awareness.php

Tobacco Cessation Program: https://www.augusta.edu/cancer/community/tobacco-cessation.php

#WorldCancerDay #CloseTheCareGap #CancerScreening #CancerPrevention #CommunityConnections