IŠ—'m pleased to share the following guest blog from ACS CAN volunteer Board member, cancer survivor, and tireless patient advocate Lori Greenstein Bremner.

This morning at a White House event, acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak released the 32nd Surgeon GeneralŠ—'s report: The Health Consequences of Smoking Š—– 50 Years of Progress. The report is an important compilation of the more than 50 years of strong scientific data showing how the tobacco epidemic has caused an enormous avoidable public health tragedy.

"Palliative care suffers from an identity problem." That's the first line of an important article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) today.

Did you know that when the American Cancer Society celebrated the first Great American Smokeout in 1976, 37% of Americans smoked? Fast forward to today, and that rate has been nearly cut in half to about 19%. This decline in smoking is in large part thanks to many our nation's lawmakers who have helped to pass legislation...

I was surprised by a CDC study I saw this week that found that in 2012 nearly 28 percent of U.S. adults had not received recommended colorectal cancer screenings. This is a scary statistic considering colon cancer is an easily preventable disease through the removal of precancerous polyps, which are detectable only through routine screening.

A new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health caught my attention this morning with some staggering statistics about tobacco use among our nationŠ—'s youth. The bottom line: far too many children are using flavored tobacco products.

National Mammography Day is an important reminder that early breast and cervical cancer detection saves lives.

The ACS CAN family was saddened to learn on Monday about the passing of Terrie Hall, an avid cancer advocate and the face of the CDCŠ—'s Tips from Former Smokers campaign. Terrie died from the effects of the cancer she faced as a result of the cigarette smoking she started in high school.

At a rally on Tuesday morning with our volunteers, the coaches shared their personal stories and connections to cancer. Each of them also emphasized the importance of Congress restoring funding for cancer research if weŠ—'re ever going to beat this disease.

Today is the start of ACS CAN's signature annual event: our Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. We'll be welcoming more than 600 cancer patients, advocates, survivors, caregivers and their families from all 50 states and nearly every congressional district to Washington, D.C.