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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:

Young women in the U.S. are increasingly being diagnosed with breast cancer. About 16% of all new cases of breast
cancer in the U.S. are in women younger than 50. The impact on young women’s lives can be devastating, as breast

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.

Tobacco Control Resources:

All tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, are unsafe. Heated tobacco products (HTPs) should be fully included in tobacco control laws to reduce tobacco use and protect the public from exposure to secondhand smoke.

Smoke-free laws protect the public and workers from the health hazards of secondhand smoke, and those
protections must extend to cannabis smoke. Smoking cannabis (often referred to as marijuana) in public places

ACS CAN, along with the American Academy of Pediatrics,  American Heart Association,  American Lung Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and the Truth Initiative urged the U.S.

Since its inception, the tobacco industry has relied on deception to peddle its deadly products.9 Now, as cigarette use in the U.S. continues to decline and the industry faces mounting regulatory pressure, it is expanding its tactics.

All cigars, including large cigars, cigarillos, and little cigars pose a serious threat to Americans’ health, with 10.2
million U.S. adults reporting current cigar use in 2022. Yet, these products remain less regulated than other tobacco

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) calls on Congress to support a sustained level of funding of $310 million for tobacco control and reject the elimination of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health (OSH).

Sustained, dedicated federal investment in tobacco control through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office of Smoking and Health (OSH) is necessary to prevent initiation of tobacco products, monitor tobacco product use, identify tobacco related disparities, and promote effective strategies to help individuals who use tobacco products to successfully quit.

Comprehensive tobacco retailer licensing laws can reduce the harmful impact of the tobacco retail environment by regulating where and how tobacco retailers can operate and sell tobacco products as well as providing the licensing entity the authority to ensure tobacco retailers are complying with all applicable tobacco control laws.

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against major tobacco manufacturers Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria to hold the industry accountable for more than 50 years of conspiring to defraud the public in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Big Tobacco, an industry which has for decades knowingly addicted and endangered the lives of millions of Americans for their own profit, must now post the truth about their deadly products, including at the point-of-sale (POS) for approximately 220,000 tobacco retailers.

Screening Resources:

After declining through much of the late 2000s and early 2010s, prostate cancer incidence rates have risen for nearly a decade. The increase includes distant-stage disease diagnoses among men of all ages, climbing by nearly 3% annually among those younger than 55 years.

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.

El cáncer de seno es el tipo de cáncer que se diagnostica con mayor frecuencia en mujeres en EE.UU. Aunque en lasúltimas décadas se han logrado avances sustanciales en la reducción de la mortalidad por esta enfermedad,persisten desigualdades, especialmente entre las mujeres de raza negra.

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.

ACS CAN supports the Access to Breast Cancer Diagnosis Act to increase access to no cost breast cancer screening, including all diagnostic and supplemental tests.

Our latest survey finds that 31% of screening-age adults have been more than one year behind on recommended routine cancer screenings. Over half say out-of-pocket costs are a barrier to getting screened, while 47% report that getting insurance approvals for covered screenings is a barrier.

Healthy Eating and Active Living Resources:

The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) appreciate the opportunity to comment on the scientific report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. Overall, we strongly support the conclusions and recommendations in the DGAC Report. The following comments provide additional information on the role of diet in cancer and specific recommendations for those tasked with finalizing the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA).