Cancer CANdor Blog

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

For the first time, breast cancer patients and their families also have the security of knowing they no longer have to worry about whether they will be able to get the care they need. Why? Because this Breast Cancer Awareness Month coincides with the opening of state health insurance marketplaces created by the health care law.

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 Š—“not well.Š— 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.

Actress Angelina Jolie published an op-ed in the New York Times today that has caught the eye of the cancer community nationwide.

When Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), inquired about contributing a patient story to a hearing to discuss the progress being made on implementation of insurance market reforms under the ACA, we knew Stacy's story was one the committee needed to hear.

I was pleased to hear President Obama mention the need to invest in science and innovation in TuesdayŠ—'s State of the Union address. Cancer patients and survivors nationwide need a renewed commitment from Congress and the administration to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute at levels that keep up with inflation and allow promising research to continue.

To illustrate just how crucial federal funding is for cancer research, ACS CAN released a new report this week, Š—“Catalyst for Cures: How Federally Funded Cancer Research Saves Lives.Š— This report underscores the threat posed by sequestration to future progress in the fight to end death and suffering from cancer by highlighting federally-funded scientists who have discovered new ways to treat specific cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer and the patients who benefited from those advances.

Dr. Richard L. Deming is a highly inspirational physician and cancer center medical director who serves as a member of the ACS CAN Board of Directors. At our last Board meeting, I had a chance to hear Dr. Deming discuss his recent, incredible journey to Nepal.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect on those things for which we give thanks. I would like to express my thanks for all of the incredibly talented cancer researchers and health care professionals who are making life better for those with cancer, their families and those at risk.