Dear Colleagues:

Thirty-five years after the signing of the National Cancer Act of 1971, OC continues to take great pride in guiding and shaping the cancer-related information that reaches an increasingly diverse American public. In 2006, our dynamic team of communications professionals created more than 75 press releases and fact sheets, fielded more than 1,000 media inquiries, answered more than 130,000 public inquiries, shipped nearly 5 million NCI publications, and reached millions of health professionals, researchers, cancer patients, and the general public through the NCI Web site, scholarly publications and presentations, exhibits at large conferences, and other nationally known cancer information programs and channels.

We enhanced our services by focusing on three critical areas: communication leadership, well-planned collaboration, and active coordination of the core services we provide to NCI's Divisions, Offices, and Centers. Achieving excellence in these areas was driven by:

Communication – In January 2006, NCI delivered its ambitious Strategic Plan for Leading the Nation, which set forth a framework for the Institute to address the greatest challenges of cancer. Ensuring that the plan's objectives were effectively communicated and skillfully integrated into NCI's communications products and services required a strong commitment by OC staff to enhanced leadership and planning across OC and the Institute.

Collaboration – At a time when team efforts are producing extraordinary advancements in NCI's cancer research labs, collaboration took on new urgency for OC as well. With budgetary resources stretched, it was imperative that OC look for even more opportunities to collaborate with internal and external partners and to cross-promote the work of Divisions, Offices, and Centers to achieve greater communications impact and cost savings.

Coordination – OC has an increasingly complex job of providing media relations, publications support, Web development, and other core communications services to a public that demands faster and more sophisticated tools and products. This past year called for intensified coordination and delivery of the high volume of core services we provide to NCI and the broader cancer community.

This annual report describes OC's 2006 accomplishments and how they support the Institute's mission. It is intended to familiarize our NCI colleagues with our work and the opportunities that exist for collaboration with our office. As we prepare for NCI's 70th anniversary in 2007, we look forward to continuing to lead the Institute's communications activities and to delivering timely cancer information to patients, professionals, and the public.

Sincerely,


Nelvis Castro
Acting Director, Office of Communications

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