The great potential for reducing the cancer burden and cancer disparities through prevention and early detection is unrealized at the population level. Using cancer data from the California Cancer Registry paired with population health data from the 2015 California Health Interview Survey on tobacco and alcohol use, poor diet, lack of physical activity, and other risk factors associated with cancer incidence, a new community-based coalition, the San Francisco Cancer Initiative (SF CAN), focuses on the city and county of San Francisco, where cancer is the leading cause of death.

SF CAN is an integrated, cross-sector collaboration launched in November 2016. It brings together the San Francisco Department of Public Health; the University of California, San Francisco; major health systems; and community coalitions to exert collective impact. Its goals are to reduce the burden of five common cancers — breast, lung and other tobacco-related, prostate, colorectal, and liver — for which there are proven methods of prevention and detection, while reducing known disparities.