More than 12 Million Cancer Survivors are Alive Today, but Cancer Still Kills More Than 570,000 Americans Each Year
Washington, D.C. -- December 13, 2011 -- A resolution was introduced in the Senate today to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the passage of the National Cancer Act. President Nixon effectively declared war on cancer by signing the Act on December 23, 1971.
Cancer is no longer a virtual death sentence thanks to the significant progress we've made as a nation in the past 40 years, said John R. Seffrin, PhD, CEO of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. However, this is no time to rest on our past success. We need to celebrate this historic milestone by redoubling our efforts, so we can find answers for the deadliest cancers that still elude us.
The resolution, sponsored by Sens. John Kerry (D-MA), Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Bob Casey (D-PA), acknowledges that people with cancer stand a far better chance of surviving the disease today than they did 40 years ago. The five-year survival rate for all cancers has increased by more than 33 percent since the mid-1970s and as a result, there are more than 12 million cancer survivors in America today.
President Nixon's declaration reinvigorated the fight against cancer by creating the National Cancer Program, which is led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).æ As a result of work done through the program today there are 66 NCI designated Cancer Centers in 33 states. In total, the NCI and the National Institutes of Health fund the work of more than 325,000 researchers and research personnel at more than 3,000 universities, medical schools, medical centers, teaching hospitals, small businesses, and research institutions in every state.
Federal investment in cancer research has led to the development of early detection and treatment tools that have spurred a decline in death rates in both men and women since the early 1990s. However, 570,000 Americans are still dying from cancer each year.
As the world's largest funder of cancer research, the federal government has the power to help eliminate death and suffering from cancer by reaffirming our commitment to eradicating this disease, said Chris Hansen, president of ACS CAN. With 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women projected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime, we cannot afford to put off our commitment to defeating this disease to another day.
In an effort to make cancer a national priority with lawmakers, last month the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) released its second-ever national television advertisement to ask Congress to remember the countless lives lost to cancer and the nearly 12 million cancer survivors living in America today when making decisions about budget priorities.
The ad, which is posted on the ACS CAN website, features the creation of a Wall of Hope in front of the U.S. Capitol that is made up of 1,584 sticky notes filled with real messages from people across the country to their loved ones who have battled cancer.
The new TV ad is part of a larger national grassroots campaign to protect federal funding for groundbreaking cancer research at the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute, lifesaving efforts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that promote the prevention and early detection of cancer, and laws and programs that expand access to adequate, affordable health care. ACS CAN's grassroots advocates across the country are holding events that call on Congress to protect critical funding and further the progress already made against this disease.
To view the ad, please visit: www.fightcancer.org/stickynotes.
To learn more about ACS CAN's efforts to increase federal funding for cancer research and critical cancer control programs, please visit: www.fightcancer.org/research
ACS CAN is the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Crispino or Steve Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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