Press Room

State lawmakers across the country are missing important opportunities to pass and implement proven legislative solutions to prevent and fight cancer, according to a report released today by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality grades states on the strength of evidence-based policies that help to prevent cancer, which kills roughly 1,670 people a day nationwide, forces patients to pay nearly $4 billion in out-of-pocket expenses every year and in 2015 cost the country more than $80 billion in direct medical expenditures. 

Nearly ninety cancer survivors, caregivers and advocates from across the state traveled to the Missouri State Capitol today to call on the General Assembly to make cancer a top legislative priority. Coaches from four state colleges joined volunteers in representation of the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The U.S. House of Representatives today passed an FY 18 federal budget, which includes; a $3 billion increase for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the largest such funding increase in 15 years; and a $275 million increase for the National Cancer Institute (NCI). 

Congress today included funding to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for six years as part of a short-term extension in the FY18 spending bill. However, lawmakers delayed consideration of renewed funding for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) until later budget negotiations are completed.

Bipartisan legislation (H.R. 4122/S. 2006) introduced this week in Congress aims to provide women and doctors with clear information on breast density and its potential to mask the presence of breast cancer. 

More than 50 people attended today’s Florida Policy Forum on Access to Care hosted by the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).  The event brought together experts, government officials, patients and leaders from the cancer community to explore the benefits of having broader to cancer screenings and treatment, identify barriers that limit access and discuss ways to better serve at-risk populations.

Two important programs, the Wisconsin Well Woman Program and the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program, maintained current funding levels. But the Little Cigar Loophole remains open.

A majority of states are missing critical opportunities to pass and implement legislative solutions proven to prevent and fight cancer, according to the 15th annual How Do You Measure Up?: A Progress Report on State Legislative Activity to Reduce Cancer Incidence and Mortality.

PROVIDENCE – AUGUST 3 – Rhode Island is getting mixed reviews when it comes to supporting policies and passing legislation to prevent and reduce suffering and death from cancer.

Sacramento, CA – The voices of cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones are making a difference at the Capitol as evidenced by the critically-important cancer-fighting policies that passed the Legislature in 2016.