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March 8, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – March 8, 2017 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) recently honored New Albany resident Mary Kost with its Advocacy Volunteer of the Year award at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis.
The award recognizes the exemplary efforts of an individual who helps ACS CAN advocate for responsible public health policies and laws that will help fight cancer. In order to be considered, a volunteer must 1) demonstrate outstanding and successful leadership in cancer-related public policy at the national, state, or local levels; 2) make substantial contributions to the fight against cancer at the state level or in their community; and 3) actively participate in local and state-level events, media campaigns and advocacy initiatives throughout the year.
“Mary is a dedicated and enthusiastic volunteer in the fight against cancer,” said Bryan Hannon, Indiana government relations director for ACS CAN. “She proactively guides our efforts and works hard to connect her lawmakers with our mission. Because of her outstanding leadership, she has made a major difference for cancer patients and survivors in her community, state and country.”
The award ceremony was part of ACS CAN’s annual Day at the Capitol, which brought cancer advocates like Kost together to urge lawmakers to increase the price of tobacco and improve cervical cancer screening efforts.
“Cancer death rates continue to decrease nationwide, but we still haven’t fully implemented proven ways to prevent the disease in the first place,” Kost said. “More than 13,500 Hoosiers will still lose their lives to cancer in 2017 alone. We’re here today to ask lawmakers to help women better access cervical cancer care and to confront one of the leading causes of premature death in our state – tobacco use.”
Specifically, ACS CAN volunteers asked lawmakers to:
- Increase the price of cigarettes. Indiana’s $0.995-per-pack cigarette tax has not been increased in nine years and ranks far below the national average of $1.69 per pack. This low tax makes it cheaper and easier to smoke in Indiana, which has one of the highest smoking rates in the country. Increasing the price of cigarettes by $1.50 per pack would keep more than 48,000 young Hoosiers from picking up a cigarette and help 58,500 current adult smokers quit the habit.
- Improve diagnosis and survival rates for cervical cancer. Despite advances in prevention and screening, Indiana’s cervical cancer incidence and death rates have remained stagnant. Because it usually shows no symptoms, early detection is critical to a patient surviving cervical cancer. A bill currently moving through the General Assembly would require the Indiana State Department of Health to identify barriers to adequate cervical cancer care and recommend ways to reduce the number of deaths statewide.
ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
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