National Oncology Program (NOP) Campaign Guide

In early 2024, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Oncology Program (NOP) released its 2023 program guide, a comprehensive summary of VA’s progress and achievements in cancer screening and treatment and its work supporting President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot. The Cancer Moonshot, initiated by the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016, designated a mission to accelerate the rate of progress against cancer. In 2022, to refocus cancer research, diagnosis, and treatment, a new goal to reduce the death rate of cancer by at least 50% over the next 25 years was set forth.

VA cares for over 1 million Veterans somewhere on the cancer care continuum and diagnoses approximately 56,000 new cancer cases every year. VA’s Cancer Moonshot initiatives are supporting a greater emphasis on health equity through targeted outreach to historically underserved communities and programs that actively work to reduce barriers to our best-in-class cancer care. Ranging from research projects to patient-facing clinical initiatives, VA is uniquely positioned to respond to the Cancer Moonshot as the largest integrated oncology provider in the United States.

In the 2023 NOP program guide, VA outlines accomplishments and the milestones it has surpassed in three core categories related to cancer care: collaboration, innovation, and expansion. Within each category, the program guide highlights programs like lung cancer screening and how VA has partnered with other organizations like the American Cancer Society and NASA to screen more Veterans, as well as efforts to expand access to care, like VA’s Mailed FIT program, which brings colorectal cancer screening to Veterans’ homes.

Real Veteran stories are woven throughout the program guide to illustrate how advancements in VA cancer care make a difference in the lives of the people NOP supports. QR codes link the reader to videos of these Veteran stories, allowing for further exploration at cancer.va.gov.

The program guide was printed in February 2024 and distributed at The American Society of Federal Health Professionals’ annual meeting (AMSUS). It will be available online in early 2024 at cancer.va.gov.