The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute was accredited with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ certification, recognizing the organization’s commitment to the health of their employees and family members by certifying their efforts to meet an exceptionally high standard of cancer prevention, screening and care guidelines.
William C. Weldon, chairman and chief executive officer of Johnson & Johnson chairs the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, the nonprofit organization of cancer-fighting CEOs who created the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute, many of its designated cancer centers, the American Cancer Society, CDC and leading health professionals.
“Our Gold Standard certification acknowledges that as Dr. Edward Benz and the leadership team at Dana-Farber help lead the fight against this disease, they are equally committed to the health and well-being of their employees who are caring for cancer patients each and every day,” said Weldon.
The CEO Cancer Gold Standard™, calls for companies to evaluate their benefits and culture and take extensive, concrete actions in five key areas of health and wellness to fight cancer in the workplace. To earn Gold Standard accreditation, a company must establish programs to reduce cancer risk by discouraging tobacco use and encouraging physical activity, healthy diet and nutrition; detect cancer at its earliest stages; and provide access to quality care, including the availability of clinical trials.
The most recent President’s Cancer Panel report, “Maximizing our Nation’s Investment in Cancer: Three Crucial Actions for America’s Health”, identified the CEO Cancer Gold Standard as an initiative that emphasizes cancer screening, tobacco control, cancer education, lifestyle modification, and access to cancer treatment when needed.
Dana-Farber becomes the sixth NCI-designated cancer center to achieve Gold Standard accreditation, joining with the NCI, who also achieved Gold Standard accreditation late last year. Other organizations championing this workplace-based effort to eliminate cancer as a public health threat include: American Cancer Society, American Legacy Foundation, AstraZeneca, C-Change, CIGNA, Duke Medicine, Edelman, Enzon Pharmaceuticals, GHI, GlaxoSmithKline, Jenner & Block, Johnson & Johnson, The Lance Armstrong Foundation, MD Anderson Cancer Center, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute, The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Novartis, The Oncology Nursing Society, OSI Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, PhRMA, PPD, Quintiles Transnational, SAS Institute, The University of North Dakota, US Oncology, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Virtua Health and The Wistar Institute.
About Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
About the CEO Roundtable on Cancer
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer was founded in 2001, when former President George H.W. Bush challenged a group of executives to “do something bold and venturesome about cancer within your own corporate families.” The CEOs responded with the CEO Cancer Gold Standard encouraging its widespread adoption in workplaces across the country. For more information on the CEO Cancer Gold Standard™ and the accreditation process, please visit www.CancerGoldStandard.org.
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For more information: CEO Roundtable on Cancer John Dornan, Executive Director P: 919-531-0966 E: John.Dornan@CEORoundtableOnCancer.org
To read the President’s Cancer Panel 2007- 2008 Report, please go to: http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp.htm.