Reducing Health Disparities

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Cancer impacts everyone, but it doesn’t impact everyone equally. We are working to ensure everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer. No one should be disadvantaged in their fight against cancer because of how much money they make, the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, their gender identity, their disability status, or where they live.

From ensuring greater diversity among clinical trial participants to improving access to quality, affordable health care, we are asking lawmakers to reduce disparities in cancer care by advancing policies that break down existing barriers.

Black women are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women overall

Latest Updates

June 10, 2025
Massachusetts

Massachusetts cancer survivors and caregivers urge lawmakers to support legislation that will increase access to precision medicine and patient navigation for all communities.

May 22, 2025
National

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.

May 20, 2025
National

New federal legislation that would make it easier for all cancer patients to participate in clinical trials was introduced today in the House of Representatives. Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Raul Ruiz (D-Calif.) and August Pfluger (R-Texas), the Clinical Trial Modernization Act would help remove cost and geographic hurdles that prevent patients from participating in clinical trials.

May 2, 2025
Hawaii

With Friday marking the end of the legislative session in Hawai’i, cancer survivors, patients, and advocates with the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) commend the state legislature for committing to health equity by passing a bill that enables researchers to study why cancer disproportionately impacts Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Asian Americans including Filipinos in Hawai’i.

Reducing Health Disparities Resources

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) supports policies and funding that increase access to “Food is Medicine” (or food as medicine) initiatives and interventions intended to prevent, treat, or manage chronic diseases and often address food and nutrition insecurity.

Our ability to continue to make progress against cancer relies heavily on eliminating inequities that exist in breast cancer prevention and treatment. That is why ACS CAN advocates for policies to reduce the disparities in breast cancer by improving access to prevention and early detection services, patient navigation services, insurance coverage, in-network facilities, and clinical trials.

Access to care for those who are uninsured not only ensures that serious diseases like cancer can be detected and treated earlier but also often means better patient outcomes and less costs to the individual and the larger health care system.