Cancer Prevention

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More than half of all cancer deaths can be prevented by fully leveraging the knowledge, tools and medical breakthroughs we have today.

Providing everyone with the opportunity to have a healthy lifestyle and true access to cancer screenings - like mammograms and colonoscopies - could save thousands of lives every year.

We are working to pass laws at every level of government that are proven to help prevent and detect cancer.

Half of all cancer deaths can be prevented.

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Cancer researcher working in a lab

Urge Congress to protect and increase lifesaving cancer research funding

The fight against cancer doesn't just happen in a doctor's office. Ending cancer as we know it, for everyone, starts in Congress and sustained funding for lifesaving cancer research. 

Latest Updates

March 14, 2024
South Carolina

As we mark Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month this March, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is calling on the South Carolina legislature to increase funding for the state’s Colorectal Cancer Prevention Network , which provides access to lifesaving preventive care to at-risk South Carolinians.

March 12, 2024
National

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health today marked up the Screening for Communities to Receive Early and Equitable Needed Services (SCREENS) for Cancer Act, H.R. 3916. The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) through 2028.

March 11, 2024
National

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is pleased to see President Biden’s continued focus on and dedication to achieving the goal of the Cancer Moonshot to end cancer as we know it, for everyone.

February 1, 2024

For World Cancer Day, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network ® (NCCN ® ), American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), and the National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF) are announcing three key areas of policy focus as part of the Alliance for Cancer Care Equity (ACCE) joint collaboration, including advancing diversity in clinical trials, improving cancer screening and early detection, and increasing access to patient navigation. The organizations are also working with Congresswoman Terri Sewell (D-AL) to observe the day with a congressional resolution.

Cancer Prevention Resources

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.

Tobacco use causes about one-third of cancer deaths in the nation overall, but the burden varies by state.