The Cancer Crisis in Appalachia: Kentucky Students Take ACTION, 2nd Edition

Kentucky has the highest rate of new cancer cases and deaths in the nation, with the greatest burden of the disease being in the state's Appalachian region. High tobacco use, poor diets and obesity, poverty, low healthcare access and engagement, and other factors drive these high rates.

Through a series of authentically poignant essays, the second edition of The Cancer Crisis in Appalachia: Kentucky Students Take ACTION continues where the first edition left off by going beyond cancer's statistics to bring voice to the cancer burden in the region. The essays are written by high school and undergraduate students who are participants in the National Cancer Institute-funded Appalachian Career Training in Oncology (ACTION) Program located at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. Students detail how they have been touched by cancer, their thoughts on why cancer is so prevalent in Appalachia, and what they think can be done to lower the cancer burden among their families and friends and in their communities. The book aims to educate and inspire readers to take ACTION to lower cancer rates in Appalachian Kentucky.

For more information about ACTION, visit the program's website: www.ukhealthcare.uky.edu/action

Essays By

Ceana Bays, Chezney Boothe, Harley Bowen, Kassidy Burke, Caylee Caudill, Makinna Caudill, Alexandra Combs, Karlee Compton, Isabella Dunn, Emily Halcomb, Gracie Harper, Nathan Hogg, Wyatt McCarty, Allisa Pack, Matthew Sanders, John Staton, Hanah Whisenant, Zane Whitaker, Carolene Willhoite, Haseeb Ahmad, Lindsay Bryant, Michael Buoncristiani, Alexander Chang, Tyra Gilbert, Abby Hill, Caroline Jenkins, Jessica Lamb, Tyce Riddle, Thomas Sanders, Savannah Saylor, Alexia ShamaeiZadeh, Madison Tackett, and Xiaomei Zheng