Press Room

OLYMPIA, Wash.

During Lung Cancer Awareness Month, cancer patients, survivors and volunteers with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in New York are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to take urgent action to reduce the state’s lung cancer burden by signing legislation that will eliminate cost-sharing for lung cancer screening and follow-up tests. As the advocates’ calls reach a fever pitch, new data, published in JAMA, has emerged to indicate that lung cancer screening uptake is low with only 1 in 5 eligible adults in the U.S. getting screened for lung cancer.

Today, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means is expected to mark up the Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) Screening Coverage Act (H.R. 842).

Tomorrow, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the draft FY26 appropriations bill approved on September 2^nd by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies.  The bill includes an increase in funding for cancer research and cancer prevention and control programs.

Earlier today, a new bill was introduced in the New York City Council to improve New Yorkers’ access to cancer screening. Int. #1369-2025 will require all private employers with a staff of five or more to grant employees paid time off—up to five hours annually—for preventative medical care, including doctor-recommend screening, ensuring that fear of wage or job loss does not serve as a barrier to workers’ ability to prevent, detect and ultimately survive cancer.

Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations considered and approved its draft FY26 appropriations bill that includes increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and increases for federal cancer research funding at the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

Today, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Susan Monarez, PhD, as the next Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Today, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling in the case of Kennedy v. Braidwood Management.

Legislation aimed at increasing access to breast and cervical cancer screening was introduced today in the U.S. Senate. The bipartisan Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. 

A new survey by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) found that 31% of adults have been more than one year behind on cancer screenings.