Cancer Moonshot Week of Action sees VA deploying new clinical pathways

December 5-9 is Cancer Moonshot action week! VA and its federal partners have several exciting new developments that will impact Veteran cancer care launching this week.

Since the relaunch of President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative in February 2022, VA has continued its work on collaborative programs that will help understand and defeat all cancers, including ones that may be associated with military environmental exposures.

One way VA brings best-in-class cancer care to Veterans across the nation is through clinical decision support tools called Clinical Pathways, which are treatment process guidelines that help our clinicians determine the best, least toxic and most efficient clinical plan for each individual Veteran.

Just as importantly, Clinical Pathways facilitate coordination within care teams no matter where providers may be located. By leveraging our national network of experts, these Clinical Pathways ensure that Veterans have access to the highest quality of care, no matter where they live.

In this way, Clinical Pathways help VA reach one of its top strategic health care goals: for Veterans to receive highly reliable, integrated care and excellent customer service that emphasizes their well-being and independence.

Cancer Moonshot and Rare Cancers

If a Veteran is diagnosed with a rare cancer or a common cancer with an unusual or unique presentation, VA can support them. A cancer is considered rare if it is diagnosed once in every 100,000 diagnoses. As an individual cancer type, the cancer may be rare, but as a group, rare cancers make up about 25 percent of all cancers diagnosed at VA.

VA already supports three rare cancer Clinical Pathways: Salivary, Head and Neck cancers. These Clinical Pathways are already making a huge difference by enabling and equipping providers across the nation with a clear picture of the various resources and options available when a Veteran is diagnosed.

Looking Ahead at VA’s Cancer Moonshot Work

As VA looks to further advance both its cancer care of Veterans and the Cancer Moonshot program, more Clinical Pathways are coming, providing improved decision making and care for a wider range of Veterans with cancer.

There are several Clinical Pathways coming out before the end of the year:

• Breast
• Colon
• Rectal
• Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Leukemia
• Plasma Cell Disorders

There are even more Clinical Pathways planned for 2023:

• Pancreatic
• GIST
• Anal
• B-Cell
• Acute Myeloid Leukemia
• Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
• Skin

To learn more and explore the full list of Clinical Pathways, go to www.cancer.va.gov.