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Prevention and Early Detection

ACS CAN advocates for public policies that can prevent nearly half of all cancer deaths by ensuring access to recommended cancer screenings, protecting the public from skin cancer risk, reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and supporting people in increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and managing their weight.

Prevention and Early Detection Resources:

Access to preventive services saves lives. Over the past four decades, cancer prevention and screening services alone have averted approximately 4.75 million deaths from breast, cervical, colorectal, lung and prostate cancers.

Vaccinations are an essential part of care for people with cancer and their families. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) advocates for science-based policies that improve access to vaccines that prevent and treat cancer as well as protect people living with cancer.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) are pleased to provide comments to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) in advance of the June 25-27th, 2025 meeting.  Our comments focus on Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Workgroup.

La División de Prevención y Control del Cáncer de los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) supervisa el Programa Nacional de Detección Temprana del Cáncer de Mama y de Cuello Uterino (NBCCEDP).

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) calls on Congress to support the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) NationalProgram for Cancer Registries (NPCR). Accessible, high-quality and usable registry data is critical to protect health and save lives.

The CDC’s Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) plays a crucial role in providing millions of screening exams, funding state cancer registries, providing technical assistance and funding to state cancer control programs and educating the public directly on how to reduce their risk of c

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) provides grant funding to 20 state health departments, eight universities, two tribal organizations, and five other organizations to help prevent colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. for men and women combined.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) urges Congress to reauthorize the the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) to provide the program greater flexibility to NBCCEDP grantees, enabling them to implement evidence-based lifesaving screening, diagnostic, and treatment services and continue the innovative work aimed to reduce breast and cervical cancer disparities by passing the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) forCancer Act (H.R. 2381/S. 1866). This is critical to overall efforts to ensure that everyone has a fair and just opportunity toprevent, detect, treat and survive cancer.

Breast cancer screening is a continuum. It begins with a screening mammogram, which is often free for most insured women.

Tobacco Control Resources:

Smoke-free policies reduce exposure to secondhand smoke (SHS) in office and non-office worksites. This has been proven by reduced nicotine concentration levels in the bloodstream of the adults who work in these settings.

 

ACS CAN advocates for everyone’s right to breathe smoke-free air so that no one is forced to choose between their health and a paycheck. ACS CAN urges state and local officials to pass and protect comprehensive smoke-free laws in all workplaces, including restaurants, bars and gaming facilities.

ACS CAN and 77 leading public health organizations urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and its enforcement partners at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), to use all the enforcement tools at their disposal against manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers to clear the market of unauthorized e-cigarette products, including flavored products that put young people at risk for nicotine addiction and other significant health harms.

Tobacco use causes about one-third of cancer deaths in the nation overall, but the burden varies by state.

All tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, are unsafe. Heated tobacco products involve heating rather than burning the tobacco leaf, which is why the tobacco industry refers to them as “heat-not-burn” or non-combustible cigarettes. These products differ from e-cigarettes which heat a liquid.

When faced with mounting evidence that tobacco tax increases effectively reduce tobacco use, tobacco manufacturers will try to distract policymakers from the material facts by invoking dire warnings of reduced revenue due to increased illicit activity including widespread smuggling and other organized crime that they claim will result from increased taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Pharmacies can offer an additional opportunity to aid individuals wanting to quit tobacco by providing immediate support and access to FDA-approved cessation medications.

Eliminating tobacco-related disparities requires that Medicaid enrollees have access to comprehensive cessation benefits without cost-sharing or other barriers to quit tobacco.

Tobacco control partners provided comments on the Request for Information; Coverage of Over-the-Counter Preventative Services (CMS-9891-NC), including three nicotine replacement (NRT) products, which would increase access to effective tobacco cessation medications for adults who want to quit using commerncial tobacco products.

Screening Resources:

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. Yet, about 1 in 3 adults aged 50 to 75 are not getting tested as recommended. This factsheet discusses the importance of screening for colorectal cancer and what can be done to improve screening in the U.S.

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined. Despite advancements in screening and treatment, CRC does not affect every community the same.

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Healthy Eating and Active Living Resources:

ACS CAN supports giving people tools, such as the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGAs), to make healthful food and beverage choices.

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments and recommendations regarding the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, planned to be held in September 2022.

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments on Topics and Scientific Questions for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

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