The Georgia Cancer Coalition is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 independent, non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 dedicated to reducing the number of cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 deaths in the U.S. state of Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

. Organized in 2001, the coalition

Coalition

A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...

 strives to accomplish this goal by unifying government agencies

Government agency

A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...

, academic institution

Academic institution

Academic institution is an educational institution dedicated to education and research, which grants academic degrees. See also academy and university.- Types of academic institutions include :...

s, service club

Service club

A service club or service organization is a voluntary non-profit organization where members meet regularly to perform charitable works either by direct hands-on efforts or by raising money for other organizations. A service club is defined first by its service mission...

s, corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

s and health care

Health care

Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...

 organizations in a joint effort to strengthen cancer prevention, research and treatment in the state. The organization's ultimate goal is to make Georgia one of the nation's premier states for cancer care

Oncology

Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with cancer...

. Key initiatives of the Coalition include:

The Distinguished Cancer Clinicians and Scientists (DCCS), whose goal is to recruit 150 scholars whose research is the basis for superior grant proposals that attract funding by NCI, CDC, ACS, NIH, etc.

The Georgia Cancer Quality Information Exchange, formed by the Coalition to facilitate the design, access and retrieval of clinical information to measure the quality of cancer care, enhance adherence to standards, and improve outcomes through process change.

The Georgia Center for Oncology Research and Education (Georgia CORE), an independent, non-profit organization working to improve cancer care in Georgia by strengthening clinical research and access to clinical trials throughout the state.

The Biorepository Alliance of Georgia for Oncology (BRAG-Onc), a tumor and tissue banking system that stores tissue, blood, and urine from cancer patients throughout the state to be used for research.

And state participation in a three-year pilot for the NCI Community Cancer Centers Program (NCCCP), researching new and enhanced ways to assist, educate, and better treat the needs of underserved populations. St. Joseph’s / Candler (SJCHS) in Savannah, Georgia, is one of 14 U.S. NCCCP sites.

The Georgia Cancer Coalition was the official beneficiary

Beneficiary

A beneficiary in the broadest sense is a natural person or other legal entity who receives money or other benefits from a benefactor. For example: The beneficiary of a life insurance policy, is the person who receives the payment of the amount of insurance after the death of the insured...

 organization of the Tour de Georgia

Tour de Georgia

The Tour de Georgia is a U.S. professional cycling stage race across the state of Georgia. The race began in 2003 and has been contested six times. It is one of the three events in North America ranked as Hors Classe stage race events by the UCI, which is cycling's international governing body,...

cycling event from 2003-2008.