ACS CAN Releases Annual Roadmap for State Cancer Policies

How does your state measure up on policies and laws crucial to winning the fight against cancer? Unfortunately, for most of you the answer is “not well." According to ACS CAN's 14^th annual How Do You Measure Up? report released today, while there were some notable legislative victories in the past year, the majority of states continue to miss opportunities to pass policies proven to help save lives from cancer, save health care dollars and create a legacy of better health for their residents. This year's report grades all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories on the following 10 policy issues that play a critical role in reducing cancer incidence and death:

• Cigarette Tax Rates
• Smoke-free Laws
• Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Cessation Services
• Tobacco Control Program Funding
• Indoor Tanning Device Restrictions
• Oral Chemotherapy Fairness
• Increased Access to Medicaid
• Balanced Pain Policy
• Breast & Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program Funding
• Access to Palliative Care

This year, the report also takes a more personal approach. To help illustrate how vital these cancer-fighting policies are to people living in these states, How Do You Measure Up? showcases ACS CAN volunteer stories. These are people who have worked closely with ACS CAN staff and who shared their powerful stories with lawmakers urging them to pass laws that help prevent and better treat this disease that impacts so many of our lives.

Eight volunteers shared their stories with us, including Tris Imboden who discussed the work he is doing in California to raise awareness of the dangers of tobacco use. Many know Tris as the famed rock-n-roller and lead drummer for the band Chicago, but he's also a Stage IIIA lung cancer survivor. When he's not on the road with his band, the California native and ACS CAN California lead volunteer is working to prevent kids from becoming addicted to nicotine, something he says increasing the state's tobacco tax by $2 per pack will help do.

Another new addition to this year's report is a benchmark for the work being done across the country on oral chemotherapy fairness. I'm happy to report 42 states and the District of Columbia are increasing access to oral chemotherapy medications for cancer treatment by ensuring they be covered by health insurance the same way as intravenous chemotherapy. Stage 4 metastatic stomach cancer survivor and ACS CAN Michigan volunteer Dr. Randy Hilliard explains in his volunteer story that because he was able to use oral chemotherapy drugs at home he was able to continue doing the things he loved like traveling with his family and going to work all while undergoing treatment. He says being able to better maintain his lifestyle during treatment gave him the strength and the willpower he needed to push through his cancer diagnosis.

How Do You Measure Up? uses a color-coded system to classify how well a state is doing in each issue. Green shows that a state has adopted evidence-based policies and best practices; yellow indicates moderate movement toward the benchmark; and red shows where states are falling short.

The report finds that only two states — Maine and Massachusetts — are measuring up or meeting benchmarks in seven of the 10 legislative priority areas graded. Thirty-four states fall in the middle category meeting the benchmark in three to six issue areas. Fourteen states land in the “falling behind" category, meeting benchmarks in just two or fewer of the measured issues. Two states, South Carolina and Tennessee, did not meet benchmarks in any of the 10 issues.

Despite the many missed opportunities, there are some success stories this year worth highlighting. Kansas and Massachusetts lawmakers passed legislation prohibiting minors under age 18 from using indoor tanning devices. Tanning beds have been classified as a known carcinogen by the World Health Organization. By protecting young people from the increased cancer risk associated with these devices, these states are helping to save lives from the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States.

Three states (Georgia, Indiana and Missouri) passed legislation to improve the quality of life for people managing chronic diseases such as cancer through increasing access to palliative care. This type of care aims to treat the whole person, not just their illness, by coordinating their care among doctors and offering relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of a serious disease.

California took a major leap forward on tobacco control when the state legislature passed legislation earlier this year to expand its smoke-free workplace law. That hard-fought victory increased the U.S. population covered by a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law from 49 percent to nearly 60 percent. And, most recently, Pennsylvania finished off its legislative session with a major state win when it passed a $1 tobacco tax increase that has been estimated to save more than 32,000 lives from premature death associated with tobacco use.

Our annual report not only shows the current landscape of policies that help save lives from cancer, but also acts as a blueprint for state lawmakers and our tireless advocates who are looking for ways to reduce the cancer burden in their states. While it's important to take a moment to celebrate successes, How Do You Measure Up? reminds us that we have a long way to go to end cancer as we know it. With the help of volunteers like those featured in the report working alongside ACS CAN staff and lawmakers, this roadmap can help take us there.

To read the full report, visit www.fightcancer.org/measure.