To quote John Seffrin, chief executive of the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN, today will go down as one of the most important days in the history of the fight against cancer in this country.

The law the president is about to sign contains provisions that ACS CAN worked hard to have included on behalf of patients. Collectively, this legislation will help patients access lifesaving medications and devices that treat cancer and its side effects.

I thought DanŠ—'s knowledge of advanced directives was pertinent to the broader discussion of palliative care because ultimately, and unfortunately, some cancer patients do not get well. So, I invited him to contribute to this blog. I hope you find his perspective useful.

Through research, we have available screening tests for the top four cancers including colonoscopy, mammography and most recently, at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Center, the low-dose spiral CT scan that has the potential to identify early lung cancers.

Illinois celebrated a major victory against Big Tobacco this week! Governor Pat Quinn signed into law yesterday morning a $1 cigarette tax increase, bringing the state cigarette tax to $1.98 a pack. With this increase, 38,600 Illinois lives will be saved, 72,700 Illinoisan kids will not start smoking and the state will raise $348.8 million in new revenue annually.

The momentum continues! In January, California became the first state in the nation to ban youth under18 from using tanning beds. In May, Vermont passed a similar lifesaving law. Just last week, Chicago became the first major U.S. city to vote to protect young people from skin cancer and melanoma by banning tanning bed use among minors.

With all of the precincts reporting in, there are only 40,000 votes separating the yes votes from the no votes. However, estimates show more than 1 million mail-in and provisional ballots were left uncounted on election night. Therefore, ACS CAN and the campaign coalition are not conceding the election outcome, and we and our public health partners are pledging to fight for the health of Californians until every vote is counted.

As the days get warmer and the sun gets hotter itŠ—'s more important than ever to raise awareness about skin cancer and the dangers of tanning. ThatŠ—'s why the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention designated the Friday before Memorial Day as Š—“DonŠ—'t Fry Day.Š—

I want to share with you some important information about a bipartisan bill advancing in the U.S. Senate that ACS CAN has been closely monitoring Š—– the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). This is a critical bill for cancer patients and their loved ones.

I am pleased to share with you that U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced a bill last week that would eliminate disparities in the federal tax rates for various tobacco products, a proposal that will increase federal revenues and save lives.