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What is your state doing to improve patient quality of life?

Treating cancer involves more than just treating the patient’s disease. Patients also need palliative care, a medical specialty that can provide cancer patients and survivors with an added layer of support and an improved quality of life. Patients ... Studies show that when palliative care is used to proactively address the many side effects of cancer, patients are most satisfied and health care costs go down. For patients to benefit from palliative care, they and their families need to be aware of the services and be able to access them from their health care provider. ACS CAN has created model state legislation that establishes a Palliative Care Advisory Council made up of state experts to ...

Cancer Advocates Celebrate Bill to Improve Quality of Life

... Kansas Legislature passed a bill to improve quality of life for patients with serious, long-term illnesses through expanded access to palliative care. Hilary Gee, Kansas government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network released the following statement in response: “Thanks to the Legislature’s work today, Kansans are one step closer to better long-term health. We’d like to thank our lawmakers for prioritizing this issue, especially Senators Barbara Bollier, Laura Kelly and Vicki Schmidt and ... to manage the burdensome symptoms and side effects that come with a serious disease. By homing in on a patient’s specific needs and goals, health care providers avoid unnecessary and unwanted treatments, which reduces costs for both patients and hospitals. This type of care has been ...

“Isn't quality of life what we are all chasing after?”

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, ACS CAN volunteers and breast cancer survivors share why a better type of care for cancer patients is so important  Fighting cancer shouldn’t just involve drugs and medical treatments. It also should involve care ... your quality of life during your cancer treatment? There were many specialists working together to ensure the best possible outcome for my health and well-being. This well-being included my physical health, mental health, as well as my emotional well-being. I had what is called a breast nurse navigator, who is a nurse certified in breast health ...

Gov. Colyer Holds Signing Ceremony for Quality of Life Law

TOPEKA, Kan. – June 29, 2018 – Cancer survivors, health care providers and representatives from advocacy groups joined Gov. Jeff Colyer today at a signing ceremony for a bill to improve patient quality ... Sclerosis Society, National Alliance on Mental Illness, University of Kansas Cancer Center, University of Kansas Medical Center and Via Christi Health in Wichita.   “ Palliative care is one of the fastest-growing trends in health care, and Kansas can now help lead the way by offering ...

Proposed Opioid Legislation an Opportunity to Achieve Balance in Addressing Abuse and Maintaining Access to Legitimate Use of Pain Medication

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP) marked up the Opioid Crisis Response Act of 2018. Included in the proposal are several ... fighting pain from cancer and other serious illnesses. Specifically, ACS CAN supports measures that would empower the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to focus on the development and approval of new, non-addictive pain treatments as well ... with safe disposal options for unused drugs. At the markup, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) filed an amendment that suggests adding palliative care legislation to the bill. A statement from Chris Hansen, president of ACS CAN, follows: “ACS CAN applauds the Senate HELP Committee for ...

Caregivers Fulfill Vital Role in Cancer Journey

... Network (ACS CAN) advocates are also caregivers. They support loved ones throughout their cancer journeys, providing both emotional and physical care and serving as a vital source of strength and guidance. Caregivers often act as personal advocates for their loved ones by coordinating their care, going to appointments with them and completing day-to-day tasks so the person with cancer can focus on their health and treatment. Public policies that are proven to impact the cancer burden are also opportunities to ease the strain that caregivers may ... palliative care as an extra layer of support both during and after treatment can improve pain management and symptom control as well as improve health outcomes, increasing the overall quality of life for both the patient and their caregiver. The PCHETA legislation will improve communication ...

Crucial Legislation Would Improve Quality of Life for Cancer Patients 

... and Senate aims to reduce suffering and improve the quality of life of cancer patients and their families by better coordinating their care and addressing the often-debilitating symptoms of disease and treatment.  The “Palliative Care Hospice Education and Training Act” ... legislation would facilitate and expand federal research into palliative care; support training for nurses, nurse practitioners and other allied health professionals to effectively practice palliative care; and establish a national palliative care public education and awareness campaign.  ... and survivors more control over the full range of their care from the point of diagnosis.”  Palliative care represents a big shift in health care delivery because it improves the quality of care for seriously ill patients without increasing overall costs. Palliative care is ...

Congratulations to Dr. Michele Williams for receiving a state award

Easton Doctor of Nursing and American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Ambassador Receives Abeloff Award for Excellence in Public Health and Cancer Control from Maryland Department of Health   Dr. Michele Williams has received the 2017 Martin D. Abeloff Award for Excellence in Public Health and Cancer Control from the Maryland Department of Health Center for Cancer Prevention and Control for her contributions to cancer control and public health through patient care and public health policy advocacy. The award was announced at 24th Annual Maryland State Council on Cancer Control Cancer Conference held on ...

Survivors, Caregivers Urge Lawmakers to Prioritize Cancer

... which brought cancer advocates together to 1) urge lawmakers to improve patients’ quality of life through expanded access to palliative care and 2) fully fund statewide tobacco prevention and cessation programs. “Cancer death rates continue to decrease nationwide, but we still ... for patients at any age and any stage of an illness and can be administered alongside curative treatment. Because it has been proven to reduce health-care costs, boost patient satisfaction and improve overall outcomes, palliative care is one of the fastest-growing trends in health-care. But many states, including West Virginia, fall short in offering adequate access to it. Restore $5 million in funding for tobacco ...

New Report Shows Majority of States Missing Opportunities to Reduce Toll of Cancer

... that help to prevent a disease that kills more than 1,600 people a day nationwide and will cost the country an estimated $216 billion in health care costs this year alone. The report, which was released at the National Conference of State Legislatures annual meeting in Seattle, WA, finds ... in seven or more policy areas. Most states are failing to implement laws and policies that not only prevent cancer and save lives, but lower health care costs and generate revenue at the same time, said Chris Hansen, president of ACS CAN. By enacting evidence-based policies that ...

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