I know I am not alone in being touched by cancer in fact, this is a universal experience in America. But I was heartened to participate in the One Degree campaign launch in Washington, DC last week, to help raise awareness about the way cancer touches all of us and the importance of sustained federal funding for cancer research.
Tuesday's event to launch the One Degree Project on Capitol Hill was such a success that I'm still in awe today. We had a room full of celebrities, lawmakers, partners from the cancer community and passionate advocates from every state all calling on Congress to increase cancer research funding.
There are few things in life that we all share in common, but we are all just one degree from cancer. Whether it's a parent, grandparent, other relative, friend, co-worker or even you, we all know someone who has faced this disease, and thus we all know just how important cancer research is to the quality of life and survival of our loved ones.
I was saddened to learn late last week that Dr. Harold Varmus will step down as director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the end of the month.
From the ACS CAN family to yours, we're wishing you happy holidays and a very Happy New Year!
While we continue to wait for the FDA to begin regulating tobacco products in addition to cigarettes and smokeless, we're seeing policy proposals in the states aimed at filling the void of e-cigarette regulation.
In the 39 years since the American Cancer Society launched the Great American Smokeout, we've made tremendous progress in reducing smoking rates and saving lives from tobacco use.
Thanks to key provisions of the health care law known as the Affordable Care Act, every state now has a website that makes it easier than ever to shop for coverage and compare health plans.
While ACS CAN is a nonpartisan organization, we have a unique opportunity to participate in the election cycle by educating the public and candidates about the actions federal and state lawmakers should take to make fighting cancer a national priority.
The Affordable Care Act ensures that most women can receive mammograms at little or no cost starting at age 40, but there are still millions of low-income, uninsured women nationwide with no access to mammograms or other lifesaving cancer screenings.