A message from President Lisa A. Lacasse:
As ACS CAN continues to strengthen our cancer health equity work, we are developing a Cancer Health Equity Execution Framework to guide how we identify, prioritize, and resource advocacy interventions that reduce cancer burden disparities across the cancer continuum. In practical terms, this means our policy priorities, partnerships, volunteer engagement, and advocacy are aligned to deliver impact for communities experiencing the greatest cancer inequities by increasing equitable access to prevention, early detection, treatment, and survivorship care.
This execution framework will build on the ACS enterprise Health Equity/DEI Guiding Principles—grounded in evidence-based decision-making, measurable cancer outcomes, accountability and transparency, capacity-building, and shared ownership. Together, these principles help ensure our advocacy is intentional, outcome-driven, and focused on achieving our mission to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.
As part of this effort, our Health Equity Team is partnering closely with colleagues and volunteer leaders across the organization to gather, inventory, and assess existing resources and initiatives to help inform the development of our Cancer Health Equity Execution Framework.
This framework will reflect the progress we have made and will be grounded in listening, learning, and alignment—across teams and in true partnership with our volunteers, whose expertise and lived experiences are essential to this work.
Throughout late 2025 into early 2026, we have focused on establishing a solid, data-informed foundation. This has included stepping back to assess what teams and volunteers are already doing well, identifying opportunities to better connect and amplify our collective efforts, and ensuring that our approach is sustainable over time.
At the end of 2025, we launched a Cancer Health Equity Survey for ACS CAN team members, and more recently invited ACS CAN leadership volunteers and all affinity group members to participate in a short Cancer Health Equity Survey designed specifically for volunteers. This survey was developed in partnership with a working group of volunteer leaders and ACS CAN staff to:
- Obtain a clear and meaningful snapshot of volunteer perspectives
- Better understand how volunteers are advancing cancer health equity and how they assess ACS CAN’s effectiveness in advancing this work
- Identify organizational strengths, gaps, and opportunities that influence advocacy efforts and impact
- Clarify what resources volunteers may need to confidently and effectively integrate health equity into their advocacy work
- Strengthen organizational alignment, resource allocation, and overall readiness to advance cancer health equity
- Establish a feedback loop and baseline to measure progress and outcomes over time
The responses received, together with other data collection, will inform how we strengthen collaboration between volunteers and teams across ACS CAN—and help guide our next steps. Your insight, leadership, and continued partnership are critical to ensuring this framework is practical, actionable, and reflective of the real-world advocacy happening in communities across the country.
Thank you for your partnership.