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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:

Early detection of breast and cervical cancer through screening can improve survival and reduce mortality by finding cancer at an early stage when treatment is more effective and less expensive. To save lives and reduce health care spending, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) is highly effective at detecting and treating breast and cervical cancer in people who may otherwise not be screened.

A critical factor for eliminating disparities and ensuring health equity is the guarantee that all people have access to quality, affordable health care.

In 2024, an estimated 13,820 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer, and 4,360 will die from the disease. Cervical cancer can affect any person with a cervix and most often is caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Persistent HPV infection causes almost all cervical cancers but fortunately there is a safe and effective vaccine against HPV.

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the second-leading cause of cancer death in women. Although incidence rates have increased slightly over the past decade, death rates from breast cancer have been consistently declining over the last three decades, largely due to increased screening rates and improved treatment.

Our latest survey finds that protecting no-cost screenings and preventive care and reducing the burden of medical debt are the most impotant priorities for cancer patients and survivors. This survey also explores the impacts of cancer on food and nutrition insecurity, with impacts felt across income groups and coverage levels.

The PSA Screening for HIM Act  (H.R. 1300/S. 297) would remove out-of-pocket costs for prostate cancer screening for those at highest risk for the disease. 

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) believes everyone should have a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against cancer because of income, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, or where they live. From preventive screening and early detection, through diagnosis and treatment, and into survivorship, there are several factors that influence cancer disparities among different populations across the cancer continuum.

Critical steps are needed to increase lung cancer screening rates across the country and also increasing to access comprehensive cessation benefits, especially among individuals with limited incomes that are disproportionately burdened by lung cancer.

ACS CAN supports H.R. 4286 to eliminate barriers and increase access to lung cancer screening and expand coverage for tobacco cessation.

Breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among women in the U.S. and the second leading cause of cancer death among women after lung cancer. Ensuring breast cancer screening services ― including diagnostic and follow-up testing ― are covered without no cost-sharing is essential to increasing access and expanding coverage of breast cancer screening.

ACS CAN supports H.R. 3086 to increase access to no cost breast cancer screening, diagnostic and follow-up testing.

Tobacco Control Resources:

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.

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.

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.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in the U.S. Although there has been substantial progress in reducing breast cancer mortality in the US over the past several decades, there are persistent disparities, especially among Black women. Additionally, breast cancer incidence is increasing, with the steepest trends among young women under 50. In 2025, an estimated 316,950 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer with an additional 59,080 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in women, and 42,680 will die from the disease. 

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).