Nick Ferreyros, COA’s director of communications, presented an update on the Time to Screen campaign with information on how advocates can be involved with the campaign. The program is a collaboration between COA and CancerCare to drive cancer screenings. Due to the pandemic, many patients have cancelled cancer screenings, such as colonoscopies, mammograms, and even skin cancer checks. COA recognized this phenomenon with alarm because delayed screenings meant patients might be diagnosed at a later stage which makes cancer more difficult and more expensive to treat, often resulting in worse outcomes. Members challenged COA to develop a program to address the decrease in screenings. COA partnered with CancerCare, a frequent COA partner, to launch the Time to Screen campaign.

What is the Campaign?

Time to Screen is a public awareness campaign to boost screenings by:

• Educating the public on the importance of cancer screenings and taking control of their own health.
• Providing solutions and making it easy for people to schedule a cancer screening appointment.
• Emphasizing COVID safety with modified procedures, masking, and social distancing.

Core Campaign Components

Free Consumer Tools

• CancerCare toll-free hotline 1-855-53-SCREEN
  • Staffed by licensed clinical social workers trained to deal with cancer issues, such as scan anxiety, also known as “scanxiety” and help find screening locations.
• Time to Screen website TimetoScreen.org
  • The website features screening education and information.
• Database of screening locations and options for all major cancer types
  • Lists screening locations across the United States regardless of insurance types.

Tapping Into Stakeholder Networks

• COA and CancerCare community activation
  • Getting the cancer community activated to ensure screenings are not missed or delayed, even during the time of a pandemic.
• Partnerships with clinicians and employers
  • Spreading the word about the importance of screenings and make scheduling a screening as simple and easy as possible.
• Local market amplification and promotion
  • Providing the tools for local activities in conjunction with the national media campaign.

Public Awareness and Advertising

• Spokesperson engagement
  • Patti LaBelle, the “Godmother of Soul,” Grammy Award winner, Singer-Songwriter, and Chef, who also has her own personal cancer story.
• Public service announcements (PSAs)
  • Featuring Patti LaBelle.
• Media outreach
  • TV spots, bus stop posters, print ads and local media support.

Key Milestones

April 8             Campaign launch at the COA Conference

July 22             Public service announcements released

July 22             National and local media relations began

August 5         Practice toolkits and materials released

September 8  Advocate and employer toolkits released

Earned Media and National Metrics

Digital Traffic    

COA has done a great deal of work internally to put the Time to Screen message online. The goal of a public awareness campaign is not to sell something, but to remind people or make them aware. By that measure, the Time to Screen campaign has been highly successful. The digital position of the campaign included the Time to Screen website, as well as digital advertising.

Digital and Social Media

The July 22 launch of the Time to Screen social media campaign also included several components including:

• Posts from Patti LaBelle
• Promoted posts from Time to Screen

The Time To Screen launch posts appeared on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. COA member practices, corporate sponsors, and legislators, such as Senator Bill Cassidy, MD (R-LA), have participated in creating social media support for the campaign.

Get Involved Options on the Time to Screen Website

The core campaign content includes:

• Social media content
• Digital ads
• Support materials, such as videos, graphics, campaign literature, and more
• Toolkits for practices and advocates
• Op-eds
• PSA scripts
• Letters to the editor
• Cancer-specific fact sheets
• Other support materials

The goal of this campaign is to get people back to regular and timely screenings. These materials can be used in any way as long as the message about the importance of timely screenings gets out. Participation by patients, family members, caregivers, practice staff, and others is welcomed. All these resources are designed to be customizable to support and enable advocates to reach out.

CPAN Advocacy Chats are regular virtual events where a guest speaker is invited to join us to discuss issues important to advocacy and advocates in a 30-minute webinar.