Hundreds of cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones traveled to Washington, D.C. in September 2019 for ACS CAN’s 13th annual Leadership Summit & Lobby Day. They urged Congress to make cancer a national priority and advance federal legislation that would reduce the burden of cancer for communities nationwide.
- Nearly 700 ACS CAN advocates from all 50 states, D.C. and Puerto Rico – and representing 397 congressional districts – participated in Leadership Summit & Lobby Day.
- ACS CAN advocates attended 497 congressional meetings, 58% of which were conducted face-to- face with members of Congress.
 ACS CAN President Lisa Lacasse (left), Coach Jamion Christian of George Washington University and Coach Fran McCaffery of The University of Iowa listened to retired Coach Dave Rose (not pictured) of Brigham Young University share his motivation for fighting cancer before advocates headed to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers. |
ACS CAN advocates urged lawmakers to:
- Address the growing epidemic of youth tobacco use by supporting legislation that would restrict flavoring of tobacco products.
- Support increased funding levels for cancer research that ensure continued progress in the fight against cancer in FY2020.
- Cosponsor and advocate for the Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act, which would improve access to palliative care for people with serious and chronic illnesses.
- Bring to a final vote before the end of 2019 the Removing Barriers to Colorectal Cancer Screening Act, which would address a loophole in Medicare that results in surprise bills for seniors undergoing a colonoscopy.
NCAA Coaches Join the Cancer Fight
Three members of the Coaches vs. Cancer® program joined ACS CAN volunteers before they headed to Capitol Hill during Leadership Summit & Lobby Day. Coaches vs. Cancer® is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches that empowers coaches, teams and communities to help save more lives from cancer. Coach Jamion Christian of George Washington University, Coach Fran McCaffery of The University of Iowa and recently retired Coach Dave Rose of Brigham Young University each shared their personal cancer stories and motivated ACS CAN advocates as they prepared to ask their lawmakers to make cancer a national priority.
The Leadership Summit & Lobby Day also featured the Lights of HOPE ceremony where more than 40,000 lights – the most in the event’s nine-year history – circled the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, each representing a loved one impacted by cancer. Sponsored by Celgene, the 2019 Lights of HOPE event raised $578,000 to help save lives from cancer.