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.
Unfortunately, for most of you the answer to the question above is not well. According to a new edition of the ACS CAN report How Do You Measure Up? released today, many state legislatures are missing opportunities to enact laws and policies that could not only generate new revenue and long-term health savings, but also save lives.
The American Cancer Society's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Len Lichtenfeld posted a great blog on palliative care recently that I wanted to share with all of you. It explains the differences between end-of-life care and palliative care, and highlights the importance of ACS CAN's work to pass legislation that will increase access to palliative care services for cancer patients and their loved ones.
I wanted to share with you two studies that were released recently that support ACS CAN's work to enact comprehensive smoke-free laws across the country.
Dr. Laura Witherspoon is an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer from Tennessee. Below is her account of her participation in the One Voice Against Cancer lobby day on July 9.