Cancer Program Fundamentals

The Association of Community Cancer Centers (ACCC) Cancer Program Fundamentals offer peer-developed, foundational information on the basic areas encompassed in the development of a cancer program.

This section is not comprehensive, exhaustive resource; however, it provides a broad, high-level overview of the services included within a cancer program with links to standards, accrediting organizations, and additional resources.

Cancer care and oncology services are continually evolving. The materials and resources found here provide a basic framework that can be useful to those new to oncology as well as to seasoned cancer program professionals who may be exploring a new area within the cancer service line or identifying options for expanding established services.

The information found here has been developed with the direction, input, and guidance of the ACCC Cancer Program Fundamentals Committee and many leading oncology experts, who have generously given their time and expertise to make the Cancer Program Fundamentals as useful and relevant as possible.

Each of topic includes a brief case study that illustrate the real-world experiences of ACCC-member cancer programs and practices in quality care delivery.

As the healthcare system and oncology ecosystem evolve, the ACCC Cancer Program Fundamentals Committee will continue to work with members and national experts to update and expand the information included within this web section.

Meeting Changing Needs

The ACCC Cancer Program Fundamentals succeeds the ACCC Cancer Program Guidelines, which were first published in 1988, and revised in 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, (in print) and in 2012 (online and in PDF format). The ACCC Cancer Program Guidelines were first developed to meet the needs of cancer care delivery as cancer programs were being established and developed in communities across the country. The guidelines were never an accrediting or credentialing mechanism and were not a list of standards, such as the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer (CoC) Cancer Program Standards. Rather, the ACCC publication was created to outline "optimal" attributes of a cancer program.

To avoid redundancy with the credentialing, accreditation, and quality standards that have emerged over recent years, in 2013, through a membership survey and focus group discussion, ACCC re-envisioned this resource as the Cancer Program Fundamentals web section, a streamlined, dynamic, easy-to-update tool for our membership.

View the archived ACCC Cancer Program Guidelines (2012 edition).
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