Wyoming Cancer Plan
A Comprehensive Cancer Control Plan serves as the foundation for a state cancer coalition’s efforts. After initially working with the Wyoming Department of Health and Wyoming Cancer Coalition (WYCC) to develop their 2020-2025 statewide cancer plan, we collaborated again in 2024 to support the development of their newest 5-year statewide Cancer Plan.
To assist the Wyoming Cancer Coalition in prioritizing goals and strategies, our team began by gathering the most recent data on demographics, cancer incidence, mortality, screening, and lifestyle behaviors (e.g., smoking). These data were presented to the coalition during a coalition-wide meeting as well as during workgroup sessions to identify gaps and opportunities. During these meetings, we engaged WYCC members in polls and group discussions where they shared successful efforts implemented to date, as well as barriers experienced in their own work. Over the course of 8 months, topic areas relevant to each coalition workgroup (i.e., prevention, screening & early detection, survivorship, and childhood cancer), evidence-based strategies, and objectives were identified based on relevance and effectiveness at addressing needs identified in the data. Specific, measurable, and actionable goals with corresponding metrics are a key component of this Plan and create a foundation for workgroups to regularly evaluate the effectiveness of their strategies, identify areas of opportunity, and continue to improve implementation of workgroup activities.
Overall, our process for working with the WYCC workgroups to develop their section of the 2026-2030 Wyoming Cancer Plan included:
Reviewing relevant data to determine goals
Discussing evidence-based strategies for addressing goals
Establishing SMART objectives
Determining metrics for monitoring and evaluation
Finalizing workgroup recommendations
Developing workgroup-specific action plans
When we work with coalitions to develop statewide plans, we rely on the expertise and experience of coalition members and other stakeholders to create goals and identify efforts that will move the needle in their state. When working in rural states like Wyoming, it is essential to consider the community context. For Wyoming, access to cancer care can be especially challenging due to the state’s mountainous geography and low population density. For those living in remote communities across the state, travel can be exceptionally burdensome due to winter road closures and dangerous weather conditions. Though as of 2025, there are nine cancer centers located in Wyoming, there are zero designated pediatric cancer care centers, requiring all children diagnosed with cancer to leave the state and travel to Colorado or Utah in order to access treatments and follow-up care. Many adults with complex cancer diagnoses may also need to travel out of state to access appropriate treatment. We prioritize working with our partners to understand the needs of the communities with which we serve, but we also prioritize understanding those communities' unique strengths and assets to identify solutions that work.
Learn more about our work.