Share

Prevention and Early Detection

ACS CAN advocates for public policies that can prevent nearly half of all cancer deaths by ensuring access to recommended cancer screenings, protecting the public from skin cancer risk, reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke and supporting people in increasing physical activity, eating a healthy diet, and managing their weight.

Prevention and Early Detection Resources:

Current federal law provides life-saving coverage of cancer prevention and early detection services and programs.  These provisions are crucial to reducing the incidence and impact of cancer in the United States.  They are also crucial in helping cancer survivors remain cancer-free and lead healthy lives.

  •  

Tobacco Control Resources:

The undersigned public health, medical and professional organizations write in strong support of your recent announcement that FDA will issue a proposed rule to reduce the nicotine level in cigarettes to non-addictive or minimally addictive levels. Such a standard would generate massive public health benefits, preventing millions of young people from smoking and dramatically reducing the number of people who die from tobacco-caused diseases. We urge you to move forward with this proposal as quickly as possible.

The undersigned public health and medical organizations write to express our deep
concern regarding the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) failure to take enforcement
actions against new tobacco products, including youth-appealing flavored e-cigarettes, that have
received marketing denial orders (MDOs) yet remain on the market illegally. FDA’s lack of
action against these products, which the agency claims are among its highest enforcement
priorities, imperils the health of our nation’s youth.

The undersigned organizations write to express our concern that FDA has yet to issue any decisions on applications for marketing orders for menthol-flavored e-cigarettes or e-liquid products. We believe granting any such orders would be inconsistent with the agency’s marketing denial orders for other non-tobacco flavored products and would be harmful to public health, particularly to the health of young people.

The undersigned organizations write today to urge you to enforce the Congressionally-mandated deadlines for Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs) for synthetic nicotine products and not allow any delays of those deadlines.

The undersigned organizations write today to urge you to enforce the Congressionally-mandated deadlines for Premarket Tobacco Product Applications (PMTAs) for synthetic nicotine products and not allow any delays of those deadlines.

High rates of menthol cigarette use is the result of deliberate actions by the tobacco industry to target certain populations. Decades of tobacco industry documents show how the tobacco industry targeted Black Americans, as well as LGBTQ+ and low-income communities with menthol cigarettes.

Screening Resources:

ACS CAN supports the Women and Lung Cancer Research and Preventive Services Act of 2023 by to accelerate progress in reducing mortality from lung cancer, including among women.

Our ability to continue to make progress against cancer relies heavily on eliminating inequities that exist in breast cancer prevention and treatment. That is why ACS CAN advocates for policies to reduce the disparities in breast cancer by improving access to prevention and early detection services, patient navigation services, insurance coverage, in-network facilities, and clinical trials.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Colorectal Cancer Control Program (CRCCP) provides grant funding to 20 state health departments, eight universities, two tribal organizations, and five other organizations to help prevent colorectal cancer, the third most common cancer in men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. for men and women combined.

Our latest survey finds that cancer patients and survivors would be less likely to stay current with preventive care, including recommended cancer screenings, if the provision requiring these services be covered at no cost were repealed. This survey also explores the challenges of limited provider networks and the need for patient navigation.

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Black men. Black men are over twice as likely to die from prostate cancer compared to every other racial and ethnic group and they are also more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage. Black men with lower-grade (less aggressive) disease are actually more likely to die from prostate cancer than white men. The reasons for this are complex and include interactions between social, behavioral and biological factors.

 

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in men and women and the second leading cause of cancer death in men and women combined in the United States. Yet, about 1 in 3 adults aged 50 to 75 are not getting tested as recommended. This factsheet discusses the importance of screening for colorectal cancer and what can be done to improve screening in the U.S.

 

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in men and in women, and the second most common cause of cancer deaths when men and women are combined. Despite advancements in screening and treatment, CRC does not affect every community the same. 

  •  

Healthy Eating and Active Living Resources:

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments and recommendations regarding the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, planned to be held in September 2022.

ACS and ACS CAN submitted comments on Topics and Scientific Questions for the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

  •