Focus | Cancer control |
---|---|
Location | |
Area served | Australia |
Key people | Todd Harper, CEO |
Website | www |
Formerly called | The Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, The Cancer Council Victoria |
Cancer Council Victoria is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to reduce the impact of cancer in Victoria. It is an independent body that advises various groups, including government, on cancer-related issues. Cancer Council Victoria also conducts and funds cancer research, acts as an advocate for cancer patients and their families, and runs cancer prevention, education and support programs.
Formerly known as The Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria, in 2002 the organisation rebranded itself as The Cancer Council Victoria. In 2008, 'The' was dropped from the name, giving the organisation its current name of 'Cancer Council Victoria'. [1]
The Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria was established by the Victorian Government in 1936 through the Anti-Cancer Council Act. [2] This act specified that the newly established council should remain independent of the government.
Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop and Sir Peter MacCallum have been notable Chairs of the Cancer Council Executive Committee. [3] [4] Ivy Brookes was vice-president of the organisation for 30 years. [5]
Cancer Council Victoria has a long history of anti-smoking advocacy, dating back to the early 1960s, even pre-dating the landmark 1964 US General Surgeon's Report on links between tobacco and cancer. [6] [7]
Cancer Council Victoria has contributed to cancer control in a number of areas. Of particular note:
In 2009, Cancer Council Victoria spent $22.4 million on research programs. [15] In 2010, $20.1 million was spent on research. [16] Much of this research is conducted at Cancer Council Victoria itself, through the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer, Cancer Epidemiology Centre, and the Tobacco Control Unit. [17]
Cancer Council Victoria funds clinical research into cancers of the bone, bowel, brain, breast, liver, lung, prostate, stomach and any other form of the disease. [18]
In 2010 Cancer Council Victoria research was recognised by the SCImago Research Group as some of Australia's best. SCImago measured the rate at which an institute's research is the result of international collaboration and the rate at which it is published in high-quality journals – in both measures Cancer Council Victoria was in Australia's top five. [19] In a measure of the rate at which Cancer Council Victoria's research is cited by other research institutes, the organisation was ranked number one in Australia, scoring 2.51 times the international average. [20]
In 2009, Cancer Council Victoria spent $22.4 million on education, prevention and support initiatives. [16] In 2010 this amount had risen to $27 million. [16]
Cancer Council Victoria has offered an information service to Victorians since 1940. [21] Today, Cancer Council Victoria runs the Cancer Information and Support Service, which offers multi-lingual telephone support through the Cancer Council Helpline, online support through cancerconnections.com.au, one-on-one peer support through Cancer Connect, and a variety of other initiatives. [22]
Cancer Council Victoria also facilitates or assists partner organisations in a variety of preventive programs and campaigns, such as:
Cancer Council Victoria works within Cancer Council Australia and alongside other states and territories to run a variety of fundraising events, such as:
Cancer Council Victoria is one of eight Cancer Council's from around Australia which make up Cancer Council Australia. Each individual Cancer Council operates in their individual states and territories:
Beyond Blue is an Australian mental health and wellbeing support organisation. They provide support programs to address issues related to depression, suicide, anxiety disorders and other related mental illnesses.
Alcohol education is the practice of disseminating disinformation about the effects of alcohol on health, as well as society and the family unit. It was introduced into the public schools by temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 19th century. Initially, alcohol education focused on how the consumption of alcoholic beverages affected society, as well as the family unit. In the 1930s, this came to also incorporate education pertaining to alcohol's effects on health. For example, even light and moderate alcohol consumption increases cancer risk in individuals. Organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States were founded to promulgate alcohol education alongside those of the temperance movement, such as the American Council on Alcohol Problems.
Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) is the name of a number of autonomous pressure groups (charities) in the anglosphere that seek to publicize the risks associated with tobacco smoking and campaign for greater restrictions on use and on cigarette and tobacco sales.
Rhonda Galbally AC has been a CEO, chair and board member for over thirty years, across business and the not for profit sector, the public sector and philanthropy.
Mary Louise Newling Wooldridge is a former Australian politician. She was a Liberal Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 2006 to 2019. She was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly, representing the seat of Doncaster from 2006 to 2014; her seat was abolished in a redistribution for that year's election, and she was subsequently elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for Eastern Metropolitan Region in November's state election.
The Hospitals Contribution Fund of Australia, commonly referred to as HCF, is an Australian private health insurer headquartered in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1932, it has grown to become one of the country's largest combined registered private health fund and life insurance company. HCF is the third-largest health insurance company by market share, and is the largest not-for-profit health fund in Australia.
Simon Fenton Chapman, AO is an Australian academic and tobacco control activist.
Maxine Veronica Morand is an Australian academic, advocate for cancer patients, and former politician. Morand has a current academic appointment at Monash University where she is a professorial fellow in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine. In addition she is a board director at Inner East Community Health and is the chair of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.
The Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) was a New Zealand Crown entity that used health promotion to promote health and encourage healthy lifestyles.
DrinkWise Australia is an organisation that employs social marketing strategies and develops educational initiatives aimed at addressing issues related to drinking culture and underage drinking. The organisation's approach is to provide information and resources to the community, emphasising responsible alcohol consumption. It operates based on a framework that encourages collaboration between the alcohol industry and community entities.
The Victorian Health Promotion Foundation is a statutory authority in the Australian state of Victoria, originally funded by hypothecated taxation raised by the Victorian Tobacco Act 1987. It was the first health promotion body in the world to be funded by a tax on tobacco.
Kathleen Maltzahn is an Australian author, academic and anti-sex work activist. She is a former councillor for the City of Yarra and was the Victorian Greens' candidate for the state seat of Richmond in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Victorian elections.
Plain tobacco packaging, also known as generic, neutral, standardised or homogeneous packaging, is packaging of tobacco products, typically cigarettes, without any branding, including only the brand name in a mandated size, font and place on the pack, in addition to the health warnings and any other legally mandated information such as toxic constituents and tax-paid stamps. The appearance of all tobacco packs is standardised, including the colour of the pack.
Proposition 29, the California Cancer Research Act, is a California ballot measure that was defeated by California voters at the statewide election on June 5, 2012.
Skin cancer in Australia kills over 2,000 each year, with more than 750,000 diagnosed and treated. Tanning became embedded in Australian culture and proved to be a controversial issue because of its popularity among teens and solarium users, despite correlations between tanning and an increased risk of developing melanoma. Australia experienced relative success through skin cancer prevention campaigns started in the 1980s and continued to invest and promote awareness through government-funded mass media strategies. Although Australia has one of the highest national rates of skin cancer, mortality trends in melanoma stabilized.
Truth Initiative is a nonprofit tobacco control organization "dedicated to achieving a culture where all youth and young adults reject tobacco". It was established in March 1999 as a result of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement between the attorneys general of 46 states, the District of Columbia and five United States territories, and the tobacco industry. Truth Initiative is best known for its youth smoking prevention campaign. Its other primary aims include conducting tobacco control research and policy studies, organizing community and youth engagement programs and developing digital cessation and prevention products, including through revenue-generating models. The organization changed its name from the American Legacy Foundation to Truth Initiative on September 8, 2015, to align its name with that of its Truth campaign. As of 2016, the organization had more than $957 million in assets and a staff of 133 based primarily in its Washington, D.C., office.
Lung cancer in Australia has killed more than 9,000 people and there are estimated to be over 12,500 new cases as of 2018. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in Australia and is responsible for one fifth of cancer diagnosis in the nation. It is differentiated into two different types: Non-small cell lung cancer and small cell-lung cancer. There are a range of diagnostic and treatment options available to treat both disease types. Smoking tobacco cigarettes is considered the leading risk factor of lung cancer in Australia, and Government-led public health schemes have aimed to reduce smoking and minimise its lung cancer risk. There has been relative success in these campaigns, and in treatment, as survival rates have improved from 9.2% to 17% as of 2014.Attitudes towards habitual smoking in youth and young adult groups have also subsequently changed in response to this. However, there is a growing stigma surrounding people living with Lung Cancer, and a large portion of work conducted by the Lung Foundation Australia is directed towards supporting the health and welfare of those affected.
Smoking in Australia is restricted in enclosed public places, workplaces, in areas of public transport and near underage events, except new laws in New South Wales that ban smoking within ten metres of children's play spaces.
James Frank Bishop is an Australian doctor and the Chief Medical Officer of Australia between 2009 and 2011.
Emily Banks is an Australian epidemiologist and public health physician, working mainly on chronic disease. She is a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health and Head of the Centre for Public Health Data and Policy at the Australian National University, and a visiting professor at the University of Oxford.