In conclusion: the promise of comprehensive cancer control

THE PROMISE OF COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CONTROL: Operationally, comprehensive cancer control (CCC) brings together diverse experts and interested partners to review together the cancer experience of their community, to identify key areas in need of improvement, to develop collaborative approaches to address individual and system changes and strategies to meet the needs of the population, and to combine resources - fiscal, relational, and intellectual - to maximize positive outcomes. Specific positive outcomes related to CCC are as follows: Comprehensive cancer plans; A cadre of collaborating partners; Support for the continuum of cancer-related functions and needs; New opportunities to learn and build skills; Coordinated appeals for federal, state, and private resources; Combined strategies to address major system changes that individual programs could not hope to address on their own; and Greater impact than single programs or partners could accomplish alone. A NUMBER OF FACTORS CAN AT TIMES IMPEDE SUCCESS: Sustainability; Resources; and Competition. Continuing the extraordinary progress of the past 5 years will fundamentally alter the trajectory of cancer and the burden of this disease in the United States. The readers are challenged to add their voices, skills, resources, perspectives, connections, and passion to this remarkable effort.