Lively and thoughtful discussion of cancer screening guidelines planned for the 2013 Dialogue for Action

Health professionals who attend the 2013 Dialogue for Action on Cancer Screening: Hitting the Targets will have a unique opportunity to hear a timely and important panel discussion on “The Future of Cancer Screening Guidelines: Reconciling the Benefits and Harms of Cancer Screening”. The discussion will get underway on Thursday March 21 at 4:35 pm at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel in Baltimore.

Tim Byers, MD, MPH, an expert in cancer prevention research from the University of Colorado School of Public Health, will moderate a lively and thoughtful discussion among four thought leaders on cancer screening who know this issue broadly and deeply from diverse perspectives. We are fortunate to have these panelists:

• David F. Yankelevitz, MD, is professor of radiology at The Mt Sinai Hospital, an expert in the diagnosis of early lung cancer and an initiator of the International Early Lung Cancer Action Program (I-ELCAP) which enrolled more than 50,000 people in 8 countries.
• Stephen Taplin, MD, MPH, Branch Chief of the Process of Care Research Branch at the National Cancer Institute, is an expert in the field of cancer screening, having built his research career around problems he saw in day-to-day practice as a primary care physician and as head of a breast cancer screening program.
• Robert A. Smith, PhD, is an epidemiologist and Director of Cancer Screening at the National Office of the American Cancer Society and has been involved in the development of numerous cancer screening guidelines.
• Quyen Ngo-Metzger, MD, MPH, recently appointed as the Scientific Director for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, serves as the main government lead to provide guidance to the USPSTF and interacts with the public and other agencies regarding the work of the Task Force.

Attendees will have the opportunity to join this discussion and others at the 2013 Dialogue conference which will be held March 21 and 22, with pre-conference sessions on March 20.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation’s annual Dialogue is attended by the diversity of healthcare professionals involved in early detection of cancer, and it provides concrete tools and effective strategies for use in both clinical and public health settings. Since 1999, the screening focus of the Dialogue has been on colorectal cancer. New this year, the 2013 Dialogue is expanding to include breast, cervical and colorectal cancers, as well as skin, prostate and lung cancers. Continuing education credit is available for physicians, nursing professionals and certified health education specialists.

Register now for the 2013 Dialogue.