Press Room

Dr. Richard L. Deming of Des Moines is a longtime volunteer of ACS CAN as well as a respected oncologist and community leader. His term as ACS CAN board chair started in January.

The administration released its FY19 budget today including a minimum $1 billion cut for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), down from what the House and Senate committees have approved for FY 18 funding levels. 

Congress passed a short-term extension to the FY18 spending bill that allows for an increase of at least $1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for each of the FY18 and FY19 years, includes two years of funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and an additional four years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Several of the largest public health organizations in the country are united in opposition to a Constitutional Revision Commission proposal that would strip language in the Florida constitution that ensures tobacco settlement money is invested in proven tobacco prevention and cessation strategies developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The coalition includes the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) together with nearly 40 other patient organizations sent a letter to U.S. House Leadership opposing proposed Right to Try legislation being considered in the House.

Cancer survivors, caregivers and their families from across the state traveled to the West Virginia State Capitol today and called on the Legislature to prioritize the 12,110 West Virginians who will be diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

Fewer young people in Illinois would start smoking under a proposal to raise the minimum age of tobacco sales from 18 to 21 years old. State Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) and State Rep. Camille Lilly (D-Oak Park) introduced the legislation in Springfield today with the support of public health groups and community organizations.

Today, the Indiana House of Representatives sidelined a bill that would have increased the minimum age of tobacco sales from 18 to 21 years old. Bryan Hannon, chair of Tobacco Free Indiana, released the following statement in response:

The following is a statement from Kimberly Hughes, Mississippi government relations director at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the state legislature’s failure to protect teens from the dangers of tanning beds:

Columbia, SC – January 29, 2018 – As lawmakers dive into the new year the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is looking ahead to what public health initiatives can be accomplished in 2018.