Cancer screenings save lives!
Like going to the dentist or changing the oil in your car, cancer screening should be a regular part of your life. Screening tests are used before a person has any symptoms to help find cancer early, when it may be easier to treat. Print this quick reference guide to take with you to a doctor’s appointment or share with loved ones.
Talk to a Doctor
If you need assistance finding a doctor contact the American Cancer Society here.
Cancer Screening Recommendations
Not sure what screening you need? These recommendations are for people at average risk for certain cancers. Talk to a doctor about which tests you might need and the screening schedule that’s right for you. It’s a good idea to also talk about risk factors, such as lifestyle behaviors and family history that may put you or your loved one at higher risk.
Here is a simple downloadable guide to screening recommendations from the American Cancer Society.
See more in-depth recommendations in cancer screening guidelines by age.
Let's Screen NY Campaign
Detecting cancer early increases the chances of successful treatment, improves survival rates, and saves patients overall on medical costs. However, cancer screening rates during the COVID-19 pandemic have declined significantly, suggesting that fewer cancers will be detected by screening and when they are found, they will be at more advanced stages. Indeed, cancer-related mortality rates have also increased during the pandemic. While health care professionals across the state are working overtime to get people back to regular screening, we need policymakers to do their part too.
What is the Let's Screen NY Campaign?
- Let’s #ScreenNY is a statewide coalition of patient advocacy groups, health systems, community organizations, individuals, policymakers, and others who are committed to helping ensure that all New Yorkers get back to regular cancer screening.
- Let’s #ScreenNY coalition members commit to helping promote the need for people to get back to regular screening, share resources for those in need of screening, and help advance policy proposals on the federal, state, and local level that will help New Yorkers get back to screening by removing the most detrimental barriers to care that are keeping New Yorkers from accessing lifesaving cancer screening.
- While not all coalition members will be actively involved in advocating for all of the public policy proposals, all of them are committed to removing barriers to cancer screening.
Join the 2022 Let's #ScreenNY Campaign Today!
ACS CAN NY has launched the Let’s Screen NY Campaign. The goal of the campaign is to mobilize federal, state, and local policymakers around an agenda that will help New Yorkers get back to screening by removing the most detrimental barriers to care that are keeping New Yorkers from accessing lifesaving cancer screenings. Fill out this survey and join the campaign today!
Read the letter sent to Governor Hochul urging her support.
2022 Let's Screen New York Policy Agenda
2022 ACS CAN Memo of Support for Cancer Services Program (CSP)
2022 Colorectal Follow-up Sign on Memo
2022 ACS CAN Support for ScreenNYC Proposal
Public Policy Proposals Supported By Let’s #ScreenNY Coalition Members
Federal
The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) is a critical safety net to ensure that all eligible individuals – no matter where they live or how little money they make – can get a free or inexpensive breast or cervical cancer screening. Today, the program doesn’t have enough funding to serve everyone who needs it. Click here to learn more.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Provide funding for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP) TAKE ACTION
The Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act (H.R. 1946/S. 1873) would allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to initiate an evidence-based coverage process for a multi-cancer screening test once the test has been approved by the FDA. Because the risk of cancer increases with age, Medicare beneficiaries are especially vulnerable. Currently, Medicare covers cancer screening tests for breast, cervical, colorectal, lung, and prostate cancers. The bill will provide CMS the authority to create coverage parameters such as patient and test criteria through the National Coverage Determination (NCD) process. Click here to learn more.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION: Pass the Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act to ensure prompt coverage of innovative new early detection tests.
State
The New York State Cancer Services Program offers a critically important service to men and women who lack health insurance – screening for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer at no cost to the patient. Detected early, these cancers are more effectively treated. Failing to have these cancers detected early can lead to deadly consequences. Disparities in screening rates have long contributed to health disparities overall. The pandemic has only served to exacerbate the disparities in cancer screening. Click here to learn more.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION: To help ensure that New Yorkers get back to screening, New York must increase funding for evidence-based cancer services to provide screening, patient navigation and education by $2 million in Fiscal Year 2022-2023 bringing the annual total to $21.8 million. TAKE ACTION
The Colorectal Cancer Screening Cost Sharing Removal Act will eliminate patient cost-sharing for colonoscopies following a positive stool-based screening test for colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer death in New York. New Yorkers are increasingly opting for less-invasive colorectal cancer screening tests that can be administered at home. While these tests are covered by insurance, patients can face large out-of-pocket costs if a follow-up colonoscopy is deemed necessary by their doctor. Click here to learn more.
SIGN THE ORGANIZATIONAL SIGN-ON LETTER HERE
POLICY RECOMMENDATION: To ensure that cost is not a barrier to screening, New York State should pass the Colorectal Cancer Screening Cost Sharing Removal Act. TAKE ACTION
New York City
The NYC Community Cares Project, operated by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, facilitate partnerships between primary care providers and hospital in New York City to provide colorectal cancer screenings free of charge to uninsured patients. Despite a small budget and no dedicated funding line, the Community Cares Project has identified thousands of New Yorkers in need of a colonoscopy and utilized patient navigators to ensure that identified patients get the necessary screening. Click here to learn more.
POLICY RECOMMENDATION: New York City should strengthen the Community Cares Project by establishing a dedicated budget line for it, increasing its overall funding, and expanding its scope to include breast cancer in addition to colorectal cancer. TAKE ACTION
Some examples of how Let’s #ScreenNY coalition members can help are listed below.
- Signing onto letters to policymakers in support of the different policy proposals.
- Promote the need for New Yorkers to get back to screening and the Let’s #ScreenNY policy agenda to their networks.
- Invite ACS CAN to present to their organization.
- Share information about the importance of screening and the Let’s #ScreenNY policy agenda via social media.
- Recruit others to participate in the campaign.
- Attend Let’s #ScreenNY coalition meetings to learn more, share ideas and more.
Do you have a story about trouble accessing care?
Do you have high out-of-pocket costs, insurer policies, or other obstacles that caused you to delay cancer screening? Have you been able to get your doctor-recommended cancer screening through a state or federal program like the New York State Cancer Services Program? Did your routine cancer screening detect your or a loved one’s cancer at an early stage? Do you have a patient or a loved one who would answer yes to any of these questions? Then we want to hear your story.
What sets ACS CAN volunteers apart from other organizations? Sharing their stories. Legislators are inundated with requests from countless people and other organizations but telling your personal cancer story is what will make your ask stand out from all the others.
When you share your cancer story it allows us to show how real people are impacted; not only by their cancer diagnosis but by the choices that lawmakers make every day. By sharing your story, you empower others and create change.
For more ways to make an impact in the Let's #ScreenNY Campaign, visit our Action Center Page to take action today!