The CEO Roundtable on Cancer hosted its second Going for Gold Summit at the SAS Institute in Cary, NC on June 6 and 7.

The Going for Gold partnership was launched in 2022 with eight participating educational institutions and has since grown to include 17 schools. It extends the impact of the Roundtable’s CEO Cancer Gold Standard employer wellness accreditation program to historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), predominantly Black institutions (PBIs) and Hispanic serving institutions (HSIs) across the United States. The program is made possible through Roundtable members with additional contributions from corporate partners Amgen, Jasper Health, Merck and SAS.

Because of persistent inequities in healthcare, Black Americans have the highest death rate and shortest survival of any racial/ethnic group in the United States for most cancers, while Hispanic and Latino Americans are at greater risk for cervical, liver and stomach cancers. Going for Gold, which focuses on health equity, education, navigation, and access, is expected to affect more than 20 million lives in these communities over the next 10 years.

In a series of sessions at the summit, partners discussed efforts to promote healthy lifestyles on campuses, the challenges of improving clinical trial access for historically underrepresented populations, improving early detection and diagnosis of cancers, and more.

A priority for many of the participating institutions is to create a more holistic view of health on their campuses. A session on the eight dimensions of wellness—social, environmental, physical, emotional, spiritual, occupational, intellectual, and financial—generated robust discussion about how to promote behaviors that reduce risk factors not only for cancer but also diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.

“This meeting was an opportunity for our partners to share their experiences in addressing the burden of cancer within their institutions and in their communities,” said Joya Delgado Harris, MPH, executive director of the CEO Cancer Gold Standard program and leader of Going for Gold.

“By utilizing the Gold Standard framework, schools can accelerate their efforts to implement programs and activities that will make a positive, sustainable impact in the lives of their students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighborhoods.”

For more information about Going for Gold and a full list of participating institutions, visit https://www.ceoroundtableoncancer.org/programs/going-for-gold.