www.acscan.org

©2012 Cancer Action Network No. 7660.11

Advocacy in ActionA decade dedicated to making

cancer a top priority

2011 Advocacy Accomplishments

Dear Friends,

The American Cancer Society and its nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), achieved a significant milestone in 2011 in fighting cancer through advocacy – the 10th anniversary of the creation of ACS CAN. The occasion was marked with nationwide celebrations of ACS CAN’s progress in supporting laws and poli-cies that help individuals and families battle cancer. More than 100,000 people shared personal milestones achieved because of advances in cancer research, and ACS CAN volunteers, in turn, shared those milestones with our nation’s elected leaders.

The year’s celebrations were not limited to past achievements, however. Despite a tough budget environment, sustained efforts by ACS CAN advocates across the country proved successful when Congress passed a budget that made the fight against cancer a top priority, increasing funding for research in a way that leverages past discoveries and promotes future advances. ACS CAN and Society Divisions also led the charge to defend lifesaving cancer programs in the states where fiscal woes remain at the top of governors’ and legislators’ agendas.

The past year was also notable for the ongoing work to implement patient protections that improve access to quality health care, and to protect funding for important preventive care initiatives in current law. These preventive measures are critical to improving the lives of cancer patients and their families. They require robust engagement on the regulatory and legislative front at both the state and federal levels to ensure they are carried out effectively.

ACS CAN and Society Divisions across the country also prevailed over a number of tobacco industry attempts to revoke or under-mine existing laws and policies aimed at reducing tobacco use and protecting children from tobacco’s deadly effects. Compre-hensive smoke-free laws were enacted in multiple communities across 11 states while three states increased cigarette taxes.

I continue to be struck by the dedication, energy, and skill of Society and ACS CAN volunteers and staff nationwide. Thank you for all you do to make our continued success possible.

Christopher W. HansenPresident, ACS CAN

Christopher W HansenPresident, ACS CAN

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Table of Contents

What is ACS CAN?Advocacy’s Role in the Fight against CancerVolunteers: The Heart of ACS CANNational Leadership Summit and Lobby DayThe Power of the Movement2011 Advocacy Milestones

Increasing Access to Care and Implementing Major Provisions of the Affordable Care Act

Reducing Tobacco’s TollSustained Investment in Cancer Research and Prevention10 Million Screenings under the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection ProgramNutrition and Physical ActivityImproving the Quality of Life for Cancer Patients

Celebrate with ActionState and Local HighlightsAwardsDonorsSpecial Thanks

2011 Advocacy Accomplishments

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The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is the nation’s leading voice advocating for public policies that are helping to defeat cancer. Created in 2001 as the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. The organization utilizes its expert capacity in lobbying, policy, grassroots, and communications to amplify the voices of patients in support of laws and policies that save more lives from cancer. With its 1 million advocates across the country, ACS CAN is a powerful force behind legislative victories and policy successes that help save lives.

ACS CAN gives a voice to those impacted by cancer as they encourage lawmakers at all levels of government to join the fight to make cancer a national priority. By raising issues of importance, raising funds, educating voters, and rallying others to the fight against cancer, ACS CAN unites and empowers people to make a difference and help save lives.

ACS CAN’s work helps advance the Society’s mission to defeat cancer by helping to protect and increase public investment in groundbreaking medical research, and by improving access nationwide to the latest prevention and early detection measures, treatments, and follow-up care that are proven to save lives. Like cancer itself, ACS CAN is nonpartisan. ACS CAN does not endorse candidates or political parties, but it does educate the public by serving as a trusted source of information about candidate posi-tions on cancer-related concerns and on key issue campaigns across the country that impact those affected by cancer.

Through its Judicial Advocacy Initiative (JAI), ACS CAN also monitors court cases that could impact its mission. JAI is involved in issues including the employment rights of cancer patients and survivors, the accessibility of quality medical care, and how impor-tant it is for courts to consider evidence-based information when rendering judgment in cases that impact cancer patients, survivors, and their families.

ACS CAN?What isACS CAN Board ACS CAN’s Board of Directors is comprised of volunteers who lead ACS CAN in partnership with ACS CAN’s chief executive officer, John R. Seffrin, PhD, and president, Christopher W. Hansen. Each of the Society’s 12 Divisions are represented on the Board.

In 2010-2011, the Board was chaired by Gary M. Reedy. Members included: William H. Boykin, Jr., MD; Aimee R. Belgard, Esq.; Kathleen Bond (treasurer); Lori G. Bremner; Steve Burgess; Deborah J. Cornwall;Lewis E. Foxhall, MD; John Hamilton, DDS; Robert R. Kugler, Esq. (secretary); Mary Maryland, PhD; MD; Karen A. Moffitt, PhD; Samuel W. Monismith, D.Ed.; Edward E. Partridge, MD; William G. Robbins; Christy A. Russell, MD; Peter S. Sheldon, Esq.; Gary Streit, Esq.; Stephen L. Swanson; Barbara J. Wilinski; Phylecia Wilson; and Robert E. Youle, Esq.

In 2011-2012, the Board is chaired by Robert R. Kugler, Esq. Members include: Aimee R. Belgard, Esq.; William H. Boykin, Jr., MD; Lori G. Bremner; Sandra Cassese, MSN, RN, CNS; Kristi DeLaurentiis; Richard L. Deming, MD; W. Phil Evans, MD; Lewis E. Foxhall, MD (secretary); John Hamilton, DDS; Bernard Jackvony, J.D.; Bernard Jones, Esq.; Martin Larsen; Cynthia M. LeBlanc, EdD; William J. Mayer, MD, MPH; William G. Robbins; Christy A. Russell, MD (vice chair); Peter S. Sheldon, Esq. (treasurer); Gary J. Streit, Esq.; Barbara J. Wilinski; Phylecia Wilson; Robert E. Youle, Esq.

John R. Seffrin, PhD Chief Executive Officer

Robert R. Kugler, Esq. Chair, Board of Directors

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American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network Mission Statement

ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpar-tisan advocacy affiliate headquar-tered in Washington, D.C., supports evidence-based policy and legisla-tive solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard.

ACS CAN conducts federal advocacy

campaigns nationwide and leads state

and local advocacy campaigns in the 12

states that make up the Society’s Great

West Division. In the remaining 38 states,

Society Divisions direct state and local ad-

vocacy campaigns. The Society’s National

Home Office grants funds in support of

ACS CAN and Division advocacy efforts.

ACS CAN directly raises funds for activities

that the Society is not permitted to fund,

including voter education activities,

organization building, and fundraising.

American Cancer Society Mission Statement

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminish-ing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service.

The Society’s national headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia and its 12 Divisions nationwide carry out the Society’s mission at the state and local levels.

Advocacy’s Role in the Fight Against CancerDefeating cancer is as much a matter of public policy as of scientific discovery. Law-makers play a critical role in determining how much progress we make as a country in defeating cancer. From ensuring that all Americans have access to adequate, afford-able health insurance, to enacting laws proven to reduce tobacco consumption, to increasing funding for cancer research and programs, interaction with local, state, and federal governments is constantly required. That’s why the Society and ACS CAN work together to make cancer a top national priority by communicating with elected officials across the country through a community-based grassroots network of cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers, as well as health care professionals, public health organiza-tions, and other partners.

The importance of advocacy is underscored by the fact that it serves, along with the elimination of disparities, as a pillar supporting each of the high-impact areas iden-tified by the Society: supporting cancer research; preventing cancer and detecting it in its earliest stages; fostering better decision making through information; and improving quality of life for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Despite notable progress, the uninsured, minorities, and other medically underserved populations still are not benefiting fully from advances in cancer prevention, screening, and treatment. Both the Society and ACS CAN strive to help create, change, and influence public policies that significantly reduce disparities and promote outreach to diverse communi-ties. Advocacy efforts, including those funded through Society grants to ACS CAN, are targeted within all of these areas to achieve maximum results.

Volunteers: The Heart of ACS CANVolunteer advocates from every corner of the country are the heart of ACS CAN’s advo-cacy efforts. They are cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, family members, and others whose lives have been affected by the disease. They repeatedly show their willingness to call, email, and meet with elected officials, policy makers, and the media in sup-port of policies that help fight cancer. This nationwide movement is organized under a sophisticated grassroots model that facilitates the efforts of advocates, energizes volunteers, nurtures a new generation of leaders, and inspires others to join ACS CAN in fighting cancer.

Central to the grassroots structure is ACS CAN’s Ambassador Constituent Team, whose volunteer members work closely with ACS CAN and Society Division staff partners

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and handle critical activities in each state to support advocacy campaigns. Overseeing the Ambassador Constituent Teams are 51 State Lead Ambassadors – one for each state and the District of Columbia – who are the lead advocacy volunteers in their states, facilitate the work of the ACT Teams, and serve as the main contact for their US senators. Each congressional district has its own lead as well, who works with their State Lead Ambassador and Division staff partners to recruit and support volunteers who are dedicated to the most critical components of successful advocacy campaigns – grassroots mobilization, media outreach, fundrais-ing, and integrating advocacy and ACS CAN into the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life® and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® events.

As constituents who care about cancer, volunteer advocates actively engage their elected officials. They write letters and send emails. They make calls and meet with legislators. They alert the media and rally for the cause. They engage in and are active in ACS CAN’s ever-growing social media presence. They speak out, knowing their voices are the ones that most influence lawmakers and policy makers to act.

National Leadership Summit and Lobby DayEach fall, hundreds of volunteer advocates from across the country convene in Washington, D.C. for the ACS CAN National Lead-ership Summit and Lobby Day. The 2011 event, which took place September 25-28, featured 600 ACS CAN volunteers and staff from all 50 states and nearly every congressional district. Volunteer advocates from ACS CAN’s grassroots structure and their staff partners received advanced training on advocacy skills and briefings on ACS CAN’s priority issues before meeting with members of Congress. ACS CAN advocates participated in 442 meetings on Capitol Hill, including all 100 US Senate offices, where they urged lawmakers to fund proven cancer control programs and biomedical research to help develop better early detection tools and treatments.

ACS CAN further amplified its presence with the fourth consecutive Lobby Day rally featuring NCAA Division I men’s college bas-ketball coaches who take part in Coaches vs. Cancer®, an effort that unites the Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches in the fight against cancer. John R. Seffrin, PhD, the chief executive officer of the Society and ACS CAN, Christopher W. Hansen, the president of ACS CAN, and hundreds of cancer advocates joined the coaches in a spirited call for sustained federal investments in cancer research, prevention, and early detection programs.

The Power of the MovementOnly a movement that is organized and relentless in prompting lawmakers to act will succeed in putting cancer at the top of the national agenda. ACS CAN is that movement, working to prove that if one American can fight cancer, a nation can rise up to defeat it. ACS CAN is welcoming new volunteer advocates every day, many of whom come from the ranks of the more than 3 mil-lion people who participate in the Society’s Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer events each year. ACS CAN is giving a voice to millions of people across the country who have been told that they or a loved one has cancer. Our efforts are helping to make cancer a top national priority.

Also on Lobby Day, volunteers partici-

pated in interviews with local television

programs across the country. Interviews

were given directly from the National

Mall with the US Capitol as the back-

drop. Volunteers giving these interviews

were passionate, articulate, and united

in their message to make cancer re-

search funding a national priority.

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Advocacy Milestones2011

Increasing Access to Care and Implementing MAJOR Provisions of the Affordable Care ActOur nation is making progress in the fight against cancer. By applying what we already know, nearly half of cancer deaths in this country are preventable. Scientific breakthroughs are leading to better prevention methods, screening tests, and treatments. Yet, millions of Americans are not benefiting from these advancements. Barriers to accessing the nation’s health care system contribute to needless suffering and death from cancer. To meet the Society’s 2015 goals of reducing cancer incidence and mortality, these barriers must be eliminated.

Implementation of Critical Patient ProtectionsThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) contains numerous provisions that increase access to quality, af-fordable health care for people with cancer and their families. ACS CAN strongly supports these provisions, based on the Society’s own peer-reviewed studies showing that people without health insurance are more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at its advanced stages and to die from the disease. The law’s patient protections will help to achieve the nation-wide goals adopted in 2006 by the Society’s national Board of Directors that call for significant reductions in the number of cancer patients and survivors who are uninsured or cannot afford lifesaving care. They do so by expanding access to adequate, affordable health care, a priority of the Society and ACS CAN long before the health care debate began.

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ACS CAN worked tirelessly to ensure that a final bill would address these patient-centered, mission-based priorities. In the end, the law included more than 160 provisions that will have a direct impact on cancer patients, including those that:

· Ban pre-existing condition exclusions

· Eliminate annual and lifetime benefit limits

· Guarantee health coverage to all applicants

· Prohibit insurance companies from charging people more for coverage because of their health status

· Refocus the health care system on disease prevention and early detection

Provisions of the law are improving a health care system that for decades has not provided adequate, affordable health cover-age for many cancer patients and survivors. For too long, individuals affected by cancer have been denied coverage altogether, issued policies that do not cover needed treatments, or charged far more than they could afford for lifesaving care.

“Strides in cancer research strengthen my belief that cures to this devastating disease are within reach.”

– Ellen Stephenson, Georgia

Implementation March 23, 2011, marked the one-year anniversary of the law. Throughout 2011, ACS CAN worked to ensure that patient protections were implemented as strongly as possible for cancer patients and survivors. The bill that passed out of Congress is a framework – how it works in practice is being determined through the regulatory process and state legislation. ACS CAN is using the “cancer lens” to evaluate legislative proposals and draft regulations, both independently and in partnership with other consumer and patient advocacy groups. In 2011, ACS CAN filed comments on numerous proposed regulations and worked with Society Division advocacy staff to shape legislation and regulations in the states.

· ACS CAN submitted comments in conjunction with other consumer groups on a proposed rule on state health exchanges and four very detailed draft regulations that complement the proposed exchange rule – premium subsidies, exchange eligibility, Medicaid eligibility, and consumer information.

· ACS CAN vigilantly monitored the implementation of the law’s medical loss ratio (MLR) provision, which sets the minimum percentage of premium dollars that insurers must spend directly on medical care instead of administrative expenses. The MLR, which is already in effect, is an important measure of value for consumers. ACS CAN and other consumer groups have communicated regularly with federal and state regulators and lawmakers about the issue’s importance and have succeeded in rebuffing persistent attempts to weaken the provision.

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· ACS CAN submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the creation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), a new care model in Medicare aimed at requiring greater integration and coordination of health care delivery. ACS CAN expressed support for ACOs and new models of health care delivery in its comments but urged CMS to ensure protections for Medicare enrollees with cancer.

· ACS CAN provided comments to the Food and Drug Administration on proposed rules that could help consumers make more informed nutritional choices by requiring chain restaurants and vending machines to list the calorie count of their items.

· ACS CAN filed comments expressing its deep concern about a regulation that fell far short of giving consumers enhanced rights to appeal claims denials than the law intended. The regulation limited the scope of what can be appealed and insti-tuted a narrower timeframe for consumers to file appeals.

· ACS CAN urged strong enforcement of a provision requiring insurers to provide consumers in the individual and small-group markets with basic information they can use to compare health plans. ACS CAN suggested that the information include the amount a patient would need to pay in the face of a real-world health event, such as a stage II breast cancer diagnosis.

· ACS CAN completed a year-long research project to identify the key components of quality cancer care and to gain better insight into the barriers to care for cancer patients and their families. The project included individual interviews with health care professionals and informal discussion groups with cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers. Findings from the project will be used to respond to a regulatory proposal for the essential benefits package that all plans in the state health ex-changes must offer. The research will also help ACS CAN assess the impact new payment and delivery system reforms have on cancer patients and their families.

· ACS CAN presented the new federal Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation with proposals on how to improve cancer care. The intent of the center is to give the CMS greater authority to develop new health care delivery and payment approaches with the ultimate goal of enhancing quality of care for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

· ACS CAN strongly supported a provision that went into effect January 1, 2011, that required Medicare to begin offering preventive benefits with no out-of-pocket costs. As of September 2011, more than 20.5 million Medicare beneficiaries had used one or more of these proven preventive services, which include mammograms, colonoscopies, and annual wellness visits.

“Alone, I am only a force of one, but with others my voice gains strength and courage.”

– Deborah Riner, SLA, Georgia

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· In January 2011, John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of the Society and ACS CAN, was appointed by the White House to an advisory board of the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council, which was created by the Affordable Care Act. In June, the administration released the nation’s first-ever National Prevention and Health Promo-tion Strategy, which focuses on coordinating prevention, wellness, and health promotion in the federal government and communities nationwide.

· ACS CAN fought multiple efforts in Congress to cut funding for the Prevention and Public Health Fund, which was created under the Affordable Care Act with ACS CAN’s strong support. The fund had awarded nearly $1.3 billion in grants to state, local, and territorial governments and community organizations through December 2011, and is authorized to provide $15 billion over 10 years to help prevent, detect, and manage chronic illnesses.

· A provision of the Affordable Care Act strongly supported by ACS CAN gave 1 million young adults access to care in 2011 by allowing children to remain on their parents’ health plan up to age 26.

· The Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, the collection of high-risk pools created by the Affordable Care Act to offer health coverage to uninsured individuals with a pre-existing condition and no alternate options for benefits, made improve-ments to the federally administered plans to make enrollment easier and more affordable. The federal government admin-isters the plan in 23 states and the District of Columbia, and 27 individual states operate their own plan. As of September 2011, more than 30,000 people, including many cancer patients and survivors, had enrolled nationwide.

· Starting September 1, 2011, insurance companies began facing greater government and public scrutiny for premium hikes of 10 percent or more. Insurers must also disclose where the money goes, with a breakdown that includes medical services, profits, and administrative expenses.

· ACS CAN weighed in on the National Strategy for Quality Improvement in Health Care called for under the Affordable Care Act. The strategy emphasizes managing chronic disease, affordability, payment reform, measuring quality, and health information technology.

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Litigation Surrounding the Affordable Care ActMore than 30 lawsuits were filed in federal court challenging the Affordable Care Act’s constitutionality. Most of the suits centered on the requirement that individuals purchase health insurance – the so-called “individual responsibility” requirement or “individual mandate.” With strong support from the Society’s National Board of Directors, the Society and ACS CAN joined the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association in filing a joint friend-of-the-court brief at the federal appellate level that supports the individual mandate as necessary to sustain the law’s critical patient protections, such as the ban on pre-existing condi-tion exclusions, the elimination of annual and lifetime benefit limits, and a ban on insurance companies rescinding coverage when a policyholder gets sick. The brief is based in part on the Society’s own research linking health insurance status and cancer outcomes – information that courts must know in order to understand the importance of insurance for patients with chronic diseases.

The brief was filed in federal appellate courts for the Fourth, Sixth, and 11th Circuits – which issued mixed rulings. The case was appealed to the US Supreme Court, which was scheduled to hear oral arguments in March 2012 and is likely to issue a ruling prior to its adjournment in the summer of 2012. The Society, ACS CAN, and their partners filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in January 2012.

Advancing the MissionSince the ACA’s passage, the Society and ACS CAN have been working to educate staff, volunteers, and the public at large about provisions of the law that help people prevent and fight cancer. ACS CAN produced a consumer-friendly guide in 2010 that explains the ACA in simple terms to people touched by the disease. The guide was updated in 2011.

ACS CAN also joined with leading national organizations that represent consumers, patients, physicians, nurses, hospitals and pharmacists to launch a Web site that provides consumers with straightforward and current information about the law. The site, healthcareandyou.org, is a project of ACS CAN, AARP, the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, the American Nurses Association, the Catholic Health Association, and the National Community Pharmacists Association.

Society and ACS CAN volunteers and staff can be proud of the progress they helped to make in 2011 toward expanding access to health care nationwide. The passage and implementation of critical provisions of the Affordable Care Act are just one part of this effort. Moving forward, the Society and ACS CAN will continue to lead the way, to achieve results, and to make a major contribution on behalf of those fighting cancer.

“I believe that without action there is no hope, which is why Lobby Day is so important.”

– Patricia Brown, volunteer, California

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Reducing Tobacco’s Toll Tobacco kills more than 400,000 Americans each year, causes nearly 90 percent of lung cancer deaths, and is responsible for nearly one-third of all cancers. Tobacco-related illnesses are expensive and impact all of us. In the United States each year, tobacco use costs an estimated $193 billion in direct and indirect health care costs. Meanwhile, the tobacco industry spends more than $11 bil-lion a year – $34 million each day – to addict new, young smokers and keep current smokers hooked. Most adult smokers become addicted as kids, and each day, 4,100 children try smoking for the first time. ACS CAN is a leader in the fight to reduce suffering from tobacco-related illnesses with a nationwide strategy to pass laws proven to help smokers quit and prevent nonsmokers from ever starting.

Implementing the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act June 22, 2011, marked the second anniversary of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, historic legislation that for the first time granted the US Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing, sales, and marketing of tobacco products. Prior to the law’s passage, tobacco was among the least regulated products sold in America – exempt from basic consumer protections such as ingredient disclosure, product testing, and restrictions on marketing to children. During the decade-long battle in Congress, ACS CAN was a leading supporter of passage of the law, and has made aggressive and effective implemen-tation of the law a top priority.

Several major provisions took effect on or soon after the law’s enactment in 2009 and on the law’s one-year anniversary. They included a ban on the manufacturing and sales of candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes that appeal primarily to children; a ban on the use of misleading descriptions such as “light,” “mild,” and “low tar” in the marketing and packaging of cigarettes; and the imple-mentation of larger warning labels on smokeless tobacco products. In 2011, several important implementation steps were taken, including the unveiling of new warning labels that will be required to appear on all cigarette packs and advertisements beginning in September 2012. The new labels are significantly larger than the current warning labels, which have not been changed in 25 years. For the first time, cigarette labels will include vivid graphics depicting the dangers of tobacco use and the toll-free phone number 1-800-QUIT-NOW, which connects callers with cessation programs in their state. While public health advocates lauded the labels for their potential to prevent nonsmokers from starting and encourage current smokers to quit, the tobacco industry went to court to keep the labels off their deadly products. ACS CAN will continue to fight the tobacco companies in court to ensure that the graphic warning labels are fully implemented.

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The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee established by the law continued to meet regularly in 2011. Among the issues they considered were the public health impacts of menthol flavoring in tobacco (including delivering their final report and recom-mendations to the FDA) and new dissolvable tobacco products that the industry has introduced into the market.

Not surprisingly, the tobacco industry has resisted complying fully with the spirit of the law, seeking to block key provisions from taking effect through legal challenges and other tactics. The Society, ACS CAN, and their partners in the public health community are working to counter the industry’s litigation and ensure timely and effective implementation of the law.

Working Toward a Smoke-free Nation Each year in the United States, secondhand smoke causes nearly 49,000 deaths from heart disease and cancer in otherwise healthy nonsmokers. In addition to these deaths, secondhand smoke can cause or exacerbate a wide range of other health issues, including respiratory infections and asthma. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard, containing 69 known or probable carcinogens and more than 7,000 chemicals.

Numerous studies show that smoke-free laws encourage smokers to quit, successfully reduce the number of cigarettes continu-ing smokers consume, and discourage kids from starting to smoke. Strong smoke-free laws that include all workplaces, including casinos, restaurants, and bars, are the only effective way to protect all workers and the public from secondhand smoke. For example, hospitality workers experienced an 89 percent decline in workplace secondhand smoke exposure just five months after New York’s smoke-free law went into effect.

Everyone is entitled to breathe smoke-free air. That’s why ACS CAN is leading a coordinated nationwide campaign to enact comprehensive statewide smoke-free laws in all 50 states by 2015, with a vigorous approach that invests in the fundamentals for success – training, grassroots mobilization, lobbying policy makers, and public education and outreach – and focuses on working with volunteers, staff, and coalition partners to execute winning campaigns.

ACS CAN’s investment continues to pay dividends, with Bismarck, North Dakota; Boise, Idaho; and cities in Alabama, Alaska, Indi-ana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming implementing smoke-free laws that expand coverage to all workplaces, including restaurants and bars, in 2011.

Since 2002, the Society and ACS CAN have helped 35 states, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and the District of Columbia enact laws requiring that 100 percent of workplaces and/or restaurants and/or bars be smoke-free, protecting nearly 80 percent of the US population from secondhand smoke. What’s more, 23 of these states, the District of Columbia, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico have a statewide smoke-free law covering all three categories.

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Tobacco Tax IncreasesBy increasing taxes on cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and all other tobacco products, states can save lives, reduce health care costs, and generate much-needed revenue. Evidence clearly shows that raising tobacco tax rates encourages tobacco users to quit or cut down their usage and prevents kids from ever starting to smoke.

Research shows that for every 10 percent price increase per pack of cigarettes, youth smoking is reduced by an estimated 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by 4 percent. ACS CAN is invested in supporting state and local campaigns to increase taxes on all tobacco products.

Despite the demonstrated health benefits and the need for new sources of revenue, the political environment in 2011 was hostile to tobacco tax increases. However, there were successes, with cigarette tax increases in Connecticut, Hawaii, Vermont, and Anchor-age, Alaska. In addition, Connecticut nearly doubled its tax on snuff, from 55 cents to $1 per ounce, and increased the tax on other tobacco products from 27.5 percent to 50 percent of the wholesale price.

ACS CAN has led the way in working with state legislatures to pass more than 100 cigarette tax increases in 47 states, the District of Columbia, and several US territories since the beginning of 2002. The national average is $1.46 per pack, up from $1.34 at the end of 2009 and 61 cents at the end of 2002.

“My voice alone cannot change things, but together we can make a difference.”

– Grace Pugh, ACT Lead, California

Sustained Investments in Cancer Research and Prevention ACS CAN remains the driving force in the public health community advocating for sustained federal investments in cancer research and prevention programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Institute on Mi-nority Health and Health Disparities, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In addition to deploying its grassroots force on the issue, ACS CAN continues to lead the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) coalition, which brings together national nonprofit cancer advocacy organizations to deliver a unified message to Congress and the administration on the need for increased cancer-related appropriations.

Throughout 2011, Congress and the president worked to address the difficult task of trying to balance the federal budget. Advo-cates were met with a new era of federal spending where all initiatives, including priority cancer programs, were vulnerable to deep cuts.

ACS CAN helped keep cuts to the NIH and NCI in the fiscal year 2011 budget to a minimum. While overall spending levels were reduced by more than $38 billion, NIH endured just a 1 percent cut and NCI a reduction of just under 1 percent. In the fiscal year 2012 omnibus spending bill, the NIH saw a $300 million increase in research funding and funding for the cancer prevention and control programs at the CDC were protected.

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Advocates worked throughout the year to keep cancer research funding a national priority. In March, LIVESTRONG founder Lance Armstrong; NIH Director Francis Collins, MD, PhD; ACS CAN volunteer and cancer survivor Tracy Elliman; and ACS CAN leadership held a joint press conference at the National Press Club calling on Congress to commit to sustained federal funding for cancer research and prevention. During the fall, ACS CAN volunteers all across the country joined together to emphasize the importance of making cancer research, prevention programs, and access to care a national priority as the congressional Super Committee negotiated budget cuts. Over the three-month campaign, volunteers created one of the most enthusiastic and robust advocacy campaigns in ACS CAN’s 10-year history.

Advocates and staff developed and participated in dozens of events, made thousands of phone calls, and sent emails to Congress. They also garnered media attention in every corner of the United States, and argued strongly for the need to make funding for cancer research, prevention programs, and access to care one of the nation’s top priorities. Highlights included a one-day bus tour across Texas’ 5th congressional district, home to the Super Committee chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-TX. During the day, ACS CAN held six rallies in every part of the district, bringing together survivors, caregivers, the media, and local legislative champions to speak to the important role Rep. Hensarling could have in the fight against cancer. In Arizona, volunteers worked with the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer to collect stories to share with another Super Committee member, Senator Jon Kyl, R-AZ, and delivered hundreds of stories to his Phoenix and Tucson district offices.

ACS CAN also launched its second-ever national television advertisement, featuring a Wall of Hope constructed in front of the US Capitol made of tributes on sticky notes to people who have been affected by cancer. The television ad ran nationally on major cable news networks, in the Washington, D.C. market on Meet the Press during November and December, and was also featured online and on YouTube, where it got nearly 28,000 views.

Advocates took the Wall of Hope concept back to their home states. During the month of November, ACS CAN volunteers replicated this monument from Wisconsin to Mississippi by holding rallies, photo opportunities, and events where people from all over the community shared their own tributes. ACS CAN also collected 5,000 online submissions from volunteers to have their tribute be included in part of an online national ad. Betty from Slatersville, North Carolina, had her winning submission featured in ACS CAN’s ad.

Finally, ACS CAN volunteers made their voices heard – literally – by their members of Congress. Over a five-week period, volunteers made nearly 41,000 phone calls to Capitol Hill. On behalf of cancer patients, survivors, their neighbors, families, and friends, these volunteers asked their national legislators to make the fight against cancer a national priority during the deficit reduction talks. In addition, volunteers sent more than 11,000 emails to Capitol Hill. Together these 52,000 volunteers proved that ACS CAN is a major player in budget talks.

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The Super Committee did not reach a consensus on budget cuts, so immediate cuts were avoided. ACS CAN volunteers are primed and prepared to continue the momentum in 2012, with thousands of volunteers pledging to help make funding for cancer research, prevention programs, and access to care a top national priority in 2012 and beyond.

ACS CAN also came together with its One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) partners throughout the year to ensure that the fight for cancer research and prevention funding is a priority for Congress. In addition to its annual grassroots lobby day, OVAC held two government relations lobby days in the spring and fall. In total, ACS CAN and its OVAC partners conducted nearly 250 congressional meetings in 2011.

In addition, ACS CAN worked with the Society’s California, High Plains, and Mid-South Divisions to hold events at local NCI-desig-nated cancer centers to educate members of Congress, their staff, and the media about the local impact of federal research dollars. These successful cancer center events will continue into 2012.

“Advocacy is powerful to me because it helps to save lives.”

– Mary Perkinson, ACT Lead, North Carolina

10 Million Screenings Under the Breast and Cervical Cancer ProgramThe fall of 2011 marked the 10 millionth screening under the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program (NBCCEDP), which offers lifesaving cancer screenings to low income and medically underserved women and provides a gateway to treatment. Since 1991, the program has served approximately 4 million women, resulting in the detection of more than 52,000 cases of breast cancer, 2,856 invasive cervical cancers, and an untold number of lives being saved. The Society and ACS CAN have been steadfast supporters of the program since its inception.

The program operates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, five US territories, and 12 American Indian/Alaska Native tribes or tribal organizations, but despite its success, fewer than one in five eligible women can be served at current funding levels. That’s why ACS CAN, working with the American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer has made it a priority to petition Congress to provide full funding for the program. In 2011, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer participants sent thousands of peti-tions to their members of Congress, encouraging full funding for the program. ACS CAN was successful in ensuring that funding for NBCCEDP was protected in the fiscal year 2012 spending bill.

In addition, ACS CAN and Society Divisions continued to wage very difficult battles to protect the state share of funding for breast and cervical cancer screening and treatment programs associated with the NBCCEDP. Although the fiscal outlook for most states is dire, thanks to the works of determined ACS CAN and Society advocates and their coalition partners, losses were kept to a minimum because many states maintained current funding levels or reversed proposed cuts.

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Cancer advocates celebrated the 10 millionth screening in October at an NBCCEDP screening center on Capitol Hill. They were joined at this event by US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-CT; Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL; Tanya Snyder, breast cancer survivor and representative of the National Football League’s Crucial Catch campaign; Louis Weiner, MD, director of the Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Stacey Ferguson, a high-risk recipient of cancer screenings through the NBCCEDP.

Similar events were also held in states across the country. In Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee, advocates partnered with state health departments and patients to highlight the need for increased funding at both the federal and state level for this lifesaving program. To mark the 10 millionth screening, and show the power of the next 10 million, ACS CAN volunteers in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennessee worked with survivors, patients, and breast health centers to come together to show Congress why funding for prevention services must be a national spending priority.

Also during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, five Society and ACS CAN volunteers were honored through the White House’s Cham-pions of Change program. Peggy Belanger from Maine, Anne Creech from Ohio, Thelma Jones from the District of Columbia, Delia Oliveri from Nevada, and Ellen Stephenson from Florida all participated in a roundtable discussion at the White House along with officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and the First Lady’s chief of staff.

Nutrition and Physical ActivityOverweight and obesity increase the risk for cancer development and recurrence and decrease the likelihood of survival for many cancers. Approximately one in three cancer deaths can be attributed to poor diet, physical inactivity, and overweight and obesity.

The prevalence of adult obesity in the United States has more than doubled in the past 25 years, and one-third of adults – more than 72 million people – are currently obese. Obesity among children and adolescents has tripled over the past three decades. Because overweight and obese children and adolescents are more likely to be overweight or obese as adults, efforts to establish healthy body weight patterns should begin in childhood.

A nationwide strategy to improve nutrition and physical activity is vitally important to reduce cancer risk and to ensure that future generations grow up healthy. ACS CAN strongly supported the nutrition and wellness provisions of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act throughout the legislative process and is currently supporting federal, state, and local efforts to implement the law. The law sets minimum national nutrition standards for school meals and other foods sold in schools, including through vending machines; requires school districts to update and strengthen their wellness policies; expands opportunities for nutrition education and obesity prevention in low-income communities; and supports farm-to-school programs.

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In addition, ACS CAN is engaged on several other obesity policy issues and filed several sets of comments in 2011. ACS CAN con-tinues to support the implementation of the restaurant menu labeling and vending machine labeling requirements in the Affordable Care Act.

ACS CAN also provided comments and testimony on and continues to support the development of strong federally proposed voluntary principles for industry for foods and beverages marketed to youth. ACS CAN supports reducing the marketing of foods of low nutritional value, particularly to youth. In addition, ACS CAN submitted comments in support of Medicare coverage of obesity screening and treatment.

Improving the Quality of Life for Cancer PatientsACS CAN and the Society are taking action to integrate palliative care earlier in the course of illness as an essential element of providing quality patient-centered care. Promoting quality of life and preventing suffering for every patient, in every setting, and for every type of illness is an essential aspect of delivering high-quality, patient-centered care. However, today’s health system often falls short in addressing pain, nausea, shortness of breath, anxiety, and other care needs that are increasingly becoming the norm for more patients, survivors, and their family caregivers facing serious illness like cancer – quality of life needs that can now span over many years or even decades.

ACS CAN is working to build congressional interest around three quality of life legislative proposals that address research support, patient and family empowerment, workforce education and training, and payment reform to improve patient access to an extra layer of patient support services. ACS CAN worked collaboratively with the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) to conduct public opinion research to gauge the public’s understanding of palliative care and found that despite the benefits, palliative care remains a mystery to many Americans. A large majority of Americans (70 percent) are not at all knowledgeable of palliative care. However, the research revealed that once consumers understand what palliative care is, they want it overwhelmingly (92 percent). ACS CAN dis-seminated the research data to policy makers, health care providers, stakeholder groups, and internally with its volunteers. ACS CAN is also working to be an innovative leader in this important health policy area, working across disease and professional disciplines with a goal of bringing together patient advocates, health professionals, and health system organizations to build a quality of life movement.

“I am honored to be the voice of so many cancer survivors and caregivers.”

– Alison Jones, ACT Lead, North Carolina

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Celebrate With Action: Double the Members. Double the Research. Double the HOPE. During the week of September 18, ACS CAN volunteers and staff across the country held more than 250 Celebrate with Action events to mark ACS CAN’s 10th birthday. All 50 states participated in these celebrations, which sent a message to Congress that cancer research should be a priority. These events gave ACS CAN the opportunity to look back at milestones the organization has reached since it was created, and to celebrate the per-sonal milestones people have reached in their lives thanks to breakthroughs in cancer research. The activities also proved a powerful means of mobi-lizing and motivating volunteers, as well as communicating ACS CAN’s message and providing a platform to recruit new members to the movement.

Throughout Celebrate with Action, ACS CAN collected 100,000 milestones from people all over the country, which volunteers delivered to con-gressional offices on September 27 as part of the annual ACS CAN National Leadership Summit and Lobby Day. In addition, banners covered with personal milestones traveled to Washington, DC from every state and were prominently displayed in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool. This eye-catching display facing the Capitol and legislative office buildings reinforced the messages that ACS CAN volunteers carried with them to the halls of Congress. The “milestone monument” was flanked with pictures and stories of people dramatically impacted by cancer research. Press coverage included an appearance by volunteers and staff from the Society’s Eastern Division on NBC’s Today show.

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State andLocal Highlights

Twelve Divisions nationwide carry out the Society’s mission at the state and local level. ACS CAN conducts federal advocacy campaigns nationwide and in the 12 states that make up the Society’s Great West Division. In many instances, the Society and ACS CAN work together on the state and local level.

AlabamaFunding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

Comprehensive smoke-free laws were enacted in Jasper and Midfield.

A compromised statewide smoke-free bill was held up from moving forward in the legislative process.

A new campaign was launched to educate lawmakers and constituents on the ben-efits of a $1 increase in the tobacco tax. Alaska The city of Anchorage, which makes up 40 percent of the state’s population,

raised the local cigarette tax by 75 cents to $2.25 per pack. In addition, compre-hensive smoke-free laws were passed and implemented in Skagway and Nome.

Funding in the amount of $805,000 was secured for obesity prevention efforts.

Funding in the amount of $10.8 million in funding was secured for the state’s to-bacco prevention and control program, a $950,000 increase over the previous year.

Arizona Advocates led opposition to a bill, which was vetoed by the governor, that would have allowed out-of-state insurance com-panies to offer limited benefits products that undercut cancer-related coverage in

Arizona’s essential benefits plan.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was passed forming a volun-tary advisory group that will monitor the Arizona Department of Health on smoking cessation, education, and chronic disease program activities.

ArkansasLegislation was defeated that would have stripped state tobacco funds by $1.5 million.

Legislation was passed requiring health benefit plans to provide coverage for the treatment of morbid obesity.

Legislation was passed to increase report-ing from tobacco manufacturers, import-ers, and the taxing authority relating to tobacco sales and taxation; it also in-

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creased requirements of non-participating manufacturers to improve enforcement of the Arkansas Tobacco Products Tax Act.

California

Legislation was passed that prohibits the use of tanning beds by individuals under 18 years of age.

Legislation was passed to repeal statutory language that interfered with patient ac-cess to effective pain treatment.

Legislation was passed that requires the Safe Routes to Schools program to assist disadvantaged communities in selecting projects.

ColoradoThe Colorado Health Benefit Exchange, an online marketplace where residents can shop for and buy health insurance based on quality and price, was created. Medicaid treatment under the state’s

Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detec-tion Program was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program and colorectal cancer screening program was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

ConnecticutThe state’s cigarette tax was increased 40 cents to $3.40 per pack. In addition, taxes on other tobacco products increased from 27.5 percent of wholesale to 50 percent of wholesale.

There was no legislation passed rolling back existing state mandates for cancer screening coverage. However, legislation was passed providing coverage for bone marrow testing, an increase in coverage for ostomy supplies, coverage for out-of-pocket expenses for clinical trial patients, coverage for prostate cancer treatment and coverage for a second colonoscopy within an insurance policy year.

The state budget funded comprehensive tobacco cessation coverage through Medicaid, including counseling, nicotine replacement therapy, and pharmaceutical drugs.

A strong state health insurance exchange was established, minimizing the potential for conflicts of interest.

Delaware The legislature voted to restore $1 million in funding for cancer screenings, which had been originally cut in the governor’s budget, for cancer screenings.

Legislation was signed into law that pro-hibits children under 19 years of age with pre-existing conditions from being denied insurance coverage, allows children to be covered on their parent’s insurance policy until 26 years of age, and requires private health insurance plans to cover evidence-based preventive services and immuniza-tions required under the Affordable Care Act.

Legislation was passed that prohibits public schools from making available or serving food with more than .5 grams of artificial trans-fatty acids to students in grades K-12 as part of a long term plan to improve school nutrition standards.

District of ColumbiaLegislation was passed to help improve access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods through a co-op program with local markets.

Legislation was passed amending the DC Healthy Schools Act to strengthen the existing smoke-free school language to include prohibiting tobacco use both on school grounds and at off-campus school functions.

Florida Legislative language was successfully removed from a bill that would have been detrimental to the options cancer patients have for pain management.

Funding in the amount of $32.3 million was secured from tobacco surcharge rev-enues for biomedical research at Florida research institutions.

Funding in the amount of $62.3 million was secured for the state’s Tobacco Pre-vention and Education Program.

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GeorgiaDespite many cuts to other parts of the state budget, funding levels were main-tained for cancer-related programs and services.

Campaigns were launched for smoke-free ordinances in Macon, Augusta, DeKalb County, and Bibb County.

HawaiiLegislation was passed that implements the Affordable Care Act.

Resolutions were passed requesting the development of a pain and palliative care policy, which must be approved by the State Board of Nursing.

Funding for the state’s tobacco cessation program was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

IdahoProposed cuts to the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program were prevented from being included in a Medicaid reform bill.

Changes to Idaho’s Catastrophic Health Care Program, which would have removed cancer treatments from the services avail-able, were defeated. This critical program pays hospital costs for those who don’t qualify for Medicaid.

Funding was protected for the state’s cancer control fund, which promotes cancer control for the citizens of the state through research, education, screening, and treatment.

Funding was also maintained for the state registry that analyzes incidence and survival data and monitors cancer trends

for all cancer patients who reside or are diagnosed and treated in Idaho.

IllinoisThe state set up a high-risk insurance pool, offering coverage for cancer patients who have previously been denied insur-ance because of a pre-existing condition. In addition, the state took steps to create a commission tasked with working toward legislation with the goal of creating a state insurance exchange that could offer residents a place to shop for health cover-age.

Three different pieces of legislation were successfully defeated that would have allowed exemptions to the state’s smoke-free law.

Legislation was passed which requires insurance policies that provide coverage for IV chemotherapy to also provide cover-

age for orally administered chemotherapy without additional cost to the patient.

IndianaFunding for the state’s tobacco prevention programs was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

Comprehensive local smoke-free laws were enacted in Delaware and Vander-burgh counties.

A summer study committee was estab-lished to address obesity, physical, and health education in schools.

IowaFunding was preserved for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

The state’s current smoke-free law was protected from attempts to repeal it.

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Attempts to eliminate the state’s tobacco prevention and control program were defeated.

KansasFunding for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program remained level in the face of budget cuts.

The state’s current smoke-free law was protected from attempts to repeal it.

Funding was preserved for the state’s tobacco prevention program.

KentuckyThe governor line item vetoed funding cuts to the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

A new campaign introduced the first com-prehensive statewide smoke-free bill.

The cities of Bowling Green and Corbin enacted comprehensive smoke-free laws.

LouisianaFunding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the face of budget cuts.

Despite multiple attempts by the gover-nor and legislature to lower the state’s tobacco tax, it was maintained.

MaineEfforts to reduce Medicaid funding through cuts to eligibility and increased cost-sharing were defeated.

An effort was defeated that would have allowed insurance companies to deny coverage to cancer patients and limit their choice of coverage to a small number of high-risk plans that would likely have had limited benefits.

Legislation was passed that would estab-lish pilot projects in K-8 schools to expand physical education.

MarylandLegislation establishing a state health care exchange program was passed.

Legislation was defeated that would have exempted cigar bars from the state smoke-free law.

Monitoring for pain and palliative care was established with the Society’s support.

MassachusettsAttempts to weaken the state’s smoke-free workplace law by pre-empting local authority to regulate smoking bars were successfully defeated.

Legislation was passed to require casinos to be smoke-free.

Out of pocket costs for preventive ser-vices in subsidized plans for low income individuals were waived under the state’s health care reform law.

MichiganPrevention programs, including cancer control, were saved from being eliminat-ed, and an additional one-time appropria-tion of $900,000 was made for cancer prevention.

MinnesotaLegislation was defeated that would have eliminated all state-mandated benefits.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was preserved in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was defeated that would have weakened the state’s current smoke-free law to allow smoking in certain bars and restaurants.

Legislation was defeated that would have weakened penalties on retailers who sell tobacco products to minors.

MississippiFunding for the state’s tobacco programs was maintained at the previous year’s levels, in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was passed to create an advi-sory council to study food deserts (resi-dential areas where healthful, affordable food is difficult to obtain).

Comprehensive local smoke-free ordi-nances were enacted in Calhoun City, Brookhaven, Rienzi, Flowood, Marks, Centreville, Coldwater, Byram, Rolling Fork, and New Albany.

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MissouriDespite budget cuts to all other state government programs, funding was main-tained for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Attempts to preempt local smoke-free ordinances were defeated.

Legislation was passed which will help ensure that fresh fruits and vegetables are in schools and state institutions, and attempts to weaken physical education requirements in the bill were defeated.

Comprehensive local smoke-free laws were enacted in Brentwood, Creve Coeur, Jef-ferson City, O’Fallon, and Springfield.

MontanaLegislation was passed requiring the state insurance commissioner to conduct a study of the equitable treatment by insur-ers for cancer patients seeking to partici-pate in cancer clinical trials. Despite an initial call to eliminate the program, most of the funding for the state tobacco prevention program was restored.

A joint resolution was passed directing the legislature to study childhood hunger and ways to improve access to nutritious food

for all children in the state.

NebraskaLegislation was passed that will provide better nutritional options to low-income and other high-risk communities.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was passed to keep Nebraska compliant with the Master Settlement Agreement and prevent a loss of revenue in part by requiring nonparticipating manufacturers to make required escrow payments on a quarterly basis.

NevadaThe state’s health insurance exchange was formed.

Language was reinstated to include fund-ing for tobacco control programs in future

budgets for the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services.

New HampshireFunding for Medicaid was maintained, despite a difficult budget climate.

Reauthorization of the comprehensive cancer plan fund was secured.

New JerseyThe governor dropped a proposal that would have rolled back Medicaid eligibility limits.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was enacted which requires insurance policies that provide coverage for IV chemotherapy to also provide cover-age for orally administered chemotherapy without additional cost to the patient.

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New MexicoState funding for Medicaid was increased in response to decreased federal funding.

Legislation was signed into law that creates a drug redistribution/recycling program.

Legislation was signed into law which requires insurance policies that provide coverage for IV chemotherapy to also provide coverage for orally administered chemotherapy without additional cost to the patient.

New YorkLegislation was enacted that provides cessation counseling and medication to all Medicaid recipients.

Level funding was maintained for the state’s cancer screening program.

Legislation was enacted requiring highway projects to consider pedestrian/bike acces-sibility.

Legislation was signed into law which requires insurance policies that provide coverage for IV chemotherapy to also provide coverage for orally administered chemotherapy without additional cost to the patient.

North CarolinaLegislation passed in the House of Repre-sentatives to improve nutritional stan-dards in foods sold outside the national school lunch program.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the face of budget cuts.

Legislation was blocked from advancing to the Senate that would have created a health insurance board dominated by insurers and big business, with very little patient/consumer representation. North DakotaFunding was maintained for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, tobacco cessation program and colorectal cancer screening program.

More than $12 million in funding for state tobacco prevention programs was secured for the next two years.

Comprehensive local smoke-free laws were enacted in Pembina and Bismarck.

OhioFunding was secured in the biennial budget for enforcement of the state’s smoke-free law.

Legislation was signed into law that al-lows doctors to use FDA-approved cancer drugs in various ways depending on a patient’s particular situation.

The comprehensive clean indoor air law was defended in the court system and led to a 14-member group’s coordinated ef-fort to present an amicus brief to the Ohio Supreme Court.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained in the biennial budget.

OklahomaVolunteers helped prevent introduction of a bill that would have changed some tobacco product taxes to a weight-based system.

Funding was maintained for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Legislation was passed to create a breast cancer license plate, with fees from the sale of the plates going toward the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

OregonLegislation was passed that will establish a statewide health insurance exchange by 2014.

Legislation was signed into law that will help more women qualify for medical treat-ment provided by the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Funding was maintained for the state’s to-bacco prevention and education program.

PennsylvaniaMore than $13 million in funding was protected for the state’s tobacco preven-tion and cessation programs.

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The state’s high risk health insurance pool was created.

The Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening Program was successfully protected from funding cuts during the legislative budget process.

Rhode IslandA $1.00 per pack reduction in the state’s tobacco tax was successfully prevented.

Funding for the state’s Breast and Cervi-cal Cancer Early Detection Program was maintained.

Eligibility standards for parents of children under 19 years of age in the Rhode Island Medicaid program were preserved.

South CarolinaFunding in the amount of $5 million was protected for the state’s tobacco preven-tion programs.

Comprehensive local smoke-free ordi-nances were enacted in Spartanburg, Summerville, Atlantic Beach, Florence, Hampton, and Pendleton.

South DakotaFunding was maintained for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Funding was protected for the state’s to-bacco prevention and cessation program.

The statewide smoke-free law was pro-tected from attempts to weaken it.

TennesseeFunding was maintained for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Annual recurring funds in the amount of $3.5 million were secured for the state’s comprehensive tobacco cessation pro-gram. In addition, $500,000 in funding was secured for the state’s Quitline, as well as for education and outreach.

TexasFunding in the amount of $600 million was secured for cancer research and pre-vention programs for the next two years.

Legislation was passed which requires insurance policies that provide coverage for IV chemotherapy to also provide cover-age for orally administered chemotherapy without additional cost to the patient.

A comprehensive local smoke-free law was enacted in San Antonio.

UtahDespite the legislature’s intent to cut the state’s screening and awareness programs completely, funding was protected.

State funding was maintained for cancer research at Huntsman Cancer Institute.

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Funding was maintained for the state’s program that provides anti-tobacco, drugs and alcohol, pro-wellness, and healthy living education to elementary school children.

VermontThe state’s tobacco tax was increased by 38 cents.

Complete Streets legislation was passed to ensure all users – pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists and transit riders of all ages and abilities – have safe access to a communi-ty’s streets; it also increases opportunities for physical activity.

Legislation was passed to establish the Vermont health benefit exchange, to be known as Green Mountain Care (GMC).

The exchange is a public-private universal health care program designed to provide health benefits through a simplified, uni-form, single administrative system for the people of Vermont.

VirginiaThe State of Virginia appropriated $5 million in funding for the Massey Cancer Center and $3 million in funding for the University of Virginia Cancer Center for fiscal year 2011-2012.

WashingtonFunding was maintained at its current level for Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation services.

Funding was protected for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

A bill was defeated that would have con-siderably weakened the state’s compre-hensive smoke-free law.

Legislation was passed that ensures equal insurance coverage of different types of chemotherapy including oral, injected, and intravenously dispensed.

West VirginiaLegislation was passed that laid the foundation for the formation of the state’s health insurance exchange.

Funding was maintained for the state’s breast and cervical cancer diagnostic fund, tobacco prevention programs (including the state Quitline), and Mountains of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Coalition.

A comprehensive local smoke-free ordi-nance was enacted in Pendleton County.

WisconsinFunding was protected for the state’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program.

Funding was secured for the first time in a farm-to-school program to increase access to healthy foods.

The governor was convinced to veto legislation implementing a weight-based tobacco tax.

WyomingLegislation was passed that expands the state’s colorectal cancer screening pro-gram to include coverage for those who need follow-up screenings.

Funding was protected for the state’s comprehensive tobacco prevention and cessation program, along with funds for county cancer resource coordinators who provide cancer education, patient naviga-tion, support for cancer control, and com-munity planning, as well as one-on-one breast and cervical cancer education and outreach.

A comprehensive smoke-free ordinance was enacted in Mountain View.

Funding in the amount of $2.5 million was secured for the state’s comprehensive cancer control efforts, including cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis and treatment, quality of life, childhood cancer, and advocacy and protected funding for county cancer resource coordinators.

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Awards

Every year, outstanding volunteers are recognized at ACS CAN’s National Advocacy Leadership Awards Dinner. The 2011 recipients included:

· Volunteer Award for Excellence in Advocacy – Karen Moffitt (Florida Division)

· State Lead Ambassador of the Year – Joyce Dolbec (Rhode Island, New England Division)

· Ambassador Constituent Team Leads of the Year – Neil Eisenberg (New York, Eastern Division); Dr. Clare Thibodeaux (Illinois Division); Russ Gillard (Arizona, Great West Division)

· Volunteer Ambassador Constituent Team of the Year – Wyoming (Great West Division)

The Judicial Advocacy Award for Excellence is presented by ACS CAN to recognize attorneys whose pro bono services sup-port the ASC CAN Judicial Advocacy Initiative. In 2011, recognition was given to Claire Maddox, Esq., and Molly Suda, Esq. Along with the outstanding volunteers previously mentioned, outstanding Society Division advocacy staff members are recognized at the National Advocacy Leadership Awards Dinner as well. The 2011 recipients included:

· The Alan Mills Award* – John Daniel (South Atlantic Division)

· Government Relations Professional of the Year – James Gray (High Plains Division)

· Grassroots Professionals of the Year – Carrie Glover (Great West Division) and Jennifer Hunt (Great West Division)

· Government Relations Team of the Year – Missouri (High Plains Division)

· Non-Advocacy Professional of the Year – Relay For Life Business Unit of the East Central Division

In addition to these outstanding advocates and volunteers, the ACS CAN National Distinguished Advocacy Award is present-ed to individuals who demonstrate outstanding leadership in the public policy arena. The 2011 award recipients were Rep. John Dingell, D-MI; Hawaii State Sen. Rosalyn Baker (D); and Utah State Sen. Michael Waddoups (R). *The Alan Mills Award, which is ACS CAN’s highest honor for advocacy staff, is presented to the individual who best embodies the passion and dedication of the late Alan Mills, a former Society staff lobbyist and one of founders of the Society’s National Government Relations Department.

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ACS CAN DonorsCorporate Contributors:

Corporate Champions $100,000 and up

EMD SeronoGlaxoSmithKlinePfizer

Corporate Heroes $25,000 - $99,999

AstraZenecaCelgeneDaiichi SankyoDendreonEndo PharmaceuticalsExact SciencesGenentechHologic Johnson and JohnsonEli Lilly and CompanyPhRMAPurdue Pharma CompanySanofi-aventis Inc. Varian Medical SystemsWalgreens

Corporate Friends $10,000 - $24,999

AmgenAstellas Idis Millennium: The Takeda Oncology CompanyNovartisPenn State Hershey Cancer InstituteRegence GroupSBLIVirginia Mason Medical Center

Judicial Advocacy Initiative Contributors:

Hope Circle $50, 000 or more in contributed services

K&L Gates LLPMcKenna Long & Aldridge LLP Honor Circle $25,000 - $49,999 in contributed services

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP Sherman & Howard LLC

Individual Contributors:

Major CANpaign Circle $20,000 and up

Dr. John W. HamiltonRobert E. Youle

Chairman’s Circle $10,000 to $19,999

John R. Seffrin, PhD & Carole SeffrinRuth B. Ziegler

President’s Circle $3,000 to $9,999

Association of Past Volunteer Leaders Avis Budget Charitable Foundation Dr. Charles Joseph Bennett, Jr.Mr. & Mrs. R. Clifford Berg, Jr. James & Kathleen BondGreg & Karen BontragerDr. William H. Boykin, Jr.Dr. Otis W. BrawleyDr. Robert T. BrodellSally West Brooks & Marvin BrooksHelene G. BrownDr. Barrie CassilethCataldo Ambulance Service Inc. China Blue

Ed ClarkJennie R. CookDonald CountsPatricia CromeDana-Farber Cancer InstituteMolly A. DanielsMike P. DanyDr. Margaret DrugayFirestone and Parson Jewelers Dr. Elizabeth T.H. FonthamDr. Lewis E. FoxhallGMMBNathan GreySheffield HaleChristopher W. HansenHerff Jones Inc.Hospice Of Dayton Inc.Dr. Anna Johnson-Winegar & Lucien WinegarReuel JohnsonDr. Douglas K. KelseyMr. & Mrs. Robert KuglerGrace J. KurakMichael KurakLaboratory Corporation of AmericaDr. Robert M. Langdon, JrLoyola University ChicagoM & R Strategic Services

Massachusetts Medical Society Ann MauDonna McDonaldJean B. McGill

Dr. Raymond Melrose Dr. Karen MoffittMoffitt Cancer Center Scarlott K. MuellerOverlake Hospital Medical CenterPhysicians InsuranceAnn Marie & Arnie PomerinkeProvidence Medical CenterGary M. ReedyDr. Christy A. RussellPeter S. SheldonMichael SilerOz Nelson & Ann StarrCarter Steger Ellen StephensonSwedish Medical CenterDr. Alan & Nancy ThorsonUniversity Physicians Inc.Vitas Hospice Services LLCBarbara J. WilinskiJohn F. Windham Mr. & Mrs. G. Van Velsor Wolf, Jr.

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Champion’s Circle $1,000 to $2,999

AARPMargaret AdkinsAK Steel CorporationAladdin’s Fine Mediterranean & American CuisineAlmar Printing Inc.American Legion Post 42Anthem Blue CrossAriad PharmaceuticalsAvera McKennanBarnard Griffin WineryAnn BlackwoodBlue Cross Blue Shield of AlabamaBlue Cross Blue Shield of MinnesotaBoehringer Ingelheim Bon Secours Baltimore Health SystemSharlene BozackBravo GroupSheila BreedingBristol-Myers Sqibb CompanyMichelle BrownDr. Carolyn Bruzdzinski Nancy BurrusRonald ButlerJoe C. Cahoon, Jr.Carmel Council 3605 Knights of ColumbusJohn ChallengerChildren’s HospitalStephanie ChristensenM. L. Christison

Citizens National BankColorado Cancer Research ProgramConvio Inc. Kelley M. DanielCharles DeGooyerDr. Richard L. DemingRalph A. DevittoDexter Community SchoolsDenis DuceyRolfe DuggarKathryn DunnamEagle Mining LLCNeil EisenbergDr. W. Phil EvansJim FossGrant FreemanFroedtert HealthDavid FryRobert GenglerRalph Gilster IIIJeffery GoffmanJames Gray

Gray & Robinson Attorneys At Law Great American Floor CenterDonald J. Gudaitis Lynn Hancock Kelly HeadrickHealth Quest Systems Inc.HealthPartnersHome Front CommunicationsHotel St. Francis Paul E. HullIowa Clinic PCIowa Diagnostic Imaging & Procedure CenterCarol Jackson

Jefferson Monroe Consulting LLCJohn Stoddard Cancer CenterJohn W. Clark Oil Co. Inc.David L JohnstonJari Johnston-AllenGina A. KaplanKelley Galloway & Company King’s Daughters’ Medical CenterDr. Marianne B. KipperNeil KishterDr. Howard B. KlecknerJames KnoxLisa LacasseDr. Cynthia M. LeBlanc Dr. Steve LoftonMacys Marathon Group Barnabas HealthMarshfield ClinicJeff A. MartinMassachusetts General Hospital Cancer CenterStacy MatseasCharles MatthauJay McCulloughPatrick McGrathGeorgia McKeownMedicaCatherine Mickle Minnesota Oncology HematologyPaula MohanRobert O. MorrisClaudia NallyNebraska Cancer Specialists Nemours

Barbara NicklesAnne Nimnicht

Onyx Pharmaceuticals Dr. Melvin P. PalalayPalmiter BenefitsRuth ParriottPenrose St. Francis HospitalAshlyn PerryDan PerryPG&E Corporation PMSLICPorter Adventist-CenturaPreferred PartnersPremera Blue CrossProsthetic Laboratories Inc. Ujwala RajgopalVictoria RakowskiJose Ramos, Jr.Realogy CorporationDr. & Mrs. Mark W. RedrowDavid ReynoldsRibbon Cap ClubMarylisabeth RichGerald RobbinsWilliam G. RobbinsRobert Boissoneault OncologyMegan RoetherMary RouvelasSAICSchwabe Williamson & WyattMickey SegalThomas SheridanLinda ShermanShuttleworth and Ingersoll PLCHarry Spring

St. Anthony HospitalSt. Elizabeth Regional Medical CenterSt. Mary Corwin HospitalSt. Mary’s Regional Medical CenterSt. Paul Radiology PAGary J. StreitSuburban Radiologic ConsultantSusan G. Komen for the CureRick SutherlandJoe TashjianDr. Lawrence S. TierneyChris TortiPam Traxel UC Davis Health SystemUCSD Medical CenterUCSF Medical CenterUniversity of Maryland Medical

US Environmental Inc. Washington State Medical OncologyWe Work for HealthJoseph L. WikoffWalt C. WilburnJef WilliamsWilliams Hall & Latherow LLPCarolyn Williams-GoldmanWyoming Power Wash Inc.Nancy C. YawDr. Jacqueline Young

Hero’s Circle $500 to $999

Sheena AebigAlegent Health

Sharon AlexanderAlohacareSuzanne AndersonBriggs AndrewsEric Armijo Dr. Andrejs Avots-AvotinsDr. & Mrs. Ermilo Barrera, Jr. Michelle BarsantiDr. Tracy BattagliaBarbara BehalBJS Restaurants Catherine BlackstoneGeorge Ann BloughBlue Martini Phoenix LLCTim & Amy BoyleBrandeberry-McKenna Public AffairsMarilyn BroussardBrown & Brown PCCarla BucknellCharlotte Burke Sally BurlingtonDaniel BurnettBurr Pilger MayerNathan BushMelissa ButeraCarroll Hospital CenterSandra CasseseJay ChamblinCitizens for Mike TalboyJames ClarkHillary ClarkeCoffeyville Sektam Inc.Joyce CookeJames CoristonConley Cornell

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Deborah J. CornwallDanay CovertJoseph William Cruitt Dr. Kevin CullenLee CutlerAaron CzyzewskiCheryl DavisDavid DebioseDonald DistasioDaren DriscollDr. Joel DunningtonDana DzwonkowskiBrian EberleEnwright Consulting Group Dr. Randall FeingoldFidelity Charitable Gift FundMarty FiorentinoGuy FischerKelly FlahertyCorliss FongLesa FosterFriends of Theresa G. RuizSandra FullerVictoria GilliganJunie Gilster MeskeyJoy GinsburgDr. James HamiltonDonna HammackLee Hecht HarrisonHawaii Pacific HealthJerris HedgesDr. Allen HendersonSusan HenryJoan HermanDr. Karen HeusinkveldJohn Hoctor

Kelly HowleyScott HuizengaNick IngalaIngalls Memorial HospitalInitiative Consulting LLCIron Workers Union, Local 625Kim JacobsJames B. Nutter & CompanyJames E. Arnold & AssociatesLaurie Jensen-WunderLila Rae JohnsonJordan Price WallGray Jones & Carlton, PLLC Katrina Kamm Beverly KohnKaren KolstadRichard KruegerKvistad FoundationMartha LaatschJennifer LeggioGary LeipheimerMarilyn LesherDr. Beth-Ann LesnikoskiLima Memorial Health SystemLincolnwood Town CenterRandy LinduffFrank Lloyd, Jr.Ed LodgeEva LokenTrisha LolloChris LuethieDavid LydonJoseph MahoneyMarcello’s ChophouseBrian MarlowMayo Foundation

May McCarthyDonna McCulloughMcDermott Quilty & MillerMerck & CompanyMethodist HospitalDr. Frederick MeyersKurt MiettJames MontieWendy MoranPeter M. MulhollandChris MunroeDr. Laura NathanLaura Noffsinger Frank NolimalNorth Carolina DermatologyNorwalk Hospital AssociationM. Elizabeth OatesCharles OhanesianOjo Caliente Mineral Springs Resort & SpaClark OliphintMeLissa OlsonJamie OrstadGregory PizzutiRobert Powers, Jr.Susan RawlRedfish ConsultingRichard ReevesRyan ReidResources For ChangeNeil RobertsonSacramento River CatsBernie SakodaSanta Fe Business ResourcesDr. Maryjean SchenkSeim Johnson LLP

Shannon McQuade ElyGrace ShullRichard SimkinsJoseph Simpson, Sr.Jordan Smith Dawn Snapp Richard SpoonemoreDebra Strochak Christine StonebergSunset Building ServiceDr. G. Marie SwansonStephen L. SwansonDr. Eric W. TaylorThe Fiorentino GroupDavid Thomas IIIWarren TolmanTri HealthTrivers AssociatesStacy TruaxCarol TuckerUncle Will’s Inc.William P. UnderrinerUNMC Eppley Cancer InstituteKemal P. UralliDr. Walter UrbaDavid F. VenezianoPaula WarlickDanielle Weller

Angela WentheStewart & Suzanne WhiteLoreta WhitneyMason WilliamsDick WoodruffDr. Gerald Woolam, Jr.Patricia WorkmanRachel Workman

Teresa Wright Powers Steve Zamzow

Leader’s Circle $250 to $499

Henry G. AdkinsRocky AdkinsAh Sisters Hand Made Merrilee M. AkoTegan AlexanderMichael AmentCindy AntolikArmstrong International Inc. Artichoke CaféAtlantis DentalLesley K. AustinPatricia AveryJim BainKatie BakerStephen BalfourOlivia BeckAimee R. BelgardBrook BloughThomas BoccaccioLucien BonnafouxGeard J. BourguignonTreasia A. BoutonBoyd County Ford Inc.Jennifer BradleyTara BreslinBrad BundeeTerese CareyDr. Katherine CariasJudith CarstonCasablanca Wholesale DistributorsDominic Casale

Cashmere Rouge SpaChristina CastanedaRalph CatalanoCenter for Orthopedic ExcellenceJames ChadwickMichael H. ChaeRobert T. ChapmanTiffany ChapmanNancy J. CheneyNancy K. ChristensonCarol Jean CieraszynskiMark Clanton

Patti Clapp Dr. Richard ClarfeldChristina ClothierJohn CombsBerenita June ConleyJames ConwayElizabeth CordovaGay CornellSean CorryBrendan CossetteCrow’s Nest Bar & Grill BrewsRuth Ann DaileyArmel R. DalliBecky DangeloJohn DanielDavid and Sharon Jamail Family FoundationJames DavisGlenn DeckerDr. Servillano E Dela Cruz, Jr.Stephanie L. DelgadoDiana DiazKaren DimickAngela Dumke

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Dwyer Chiropractic LLCBryan K. EarnestMark A. EdmiastonPaul EgermanDr. Albert EinsteinJill ElderMichelle ElliottDr. Susan EscudierDavid FarrellKristi Farver-OaksNick FedericiArrin FitzgeraldWendy FordLeslie FoxPete FredriksenLori FresinaDr. Robert Fried Susan FriedDavid FrocketTonnie FurjanicThenice GallRoland GarciaTina GarciaGaylord Eye Care CenterKim Germino

Kate Geyer Cara GilliganMichelle GliddenDr. Willie Goffney, Jr.Dr. Mark Goldberg Merary GonzalezJay GoodmanCheryl GossmanLakeshia GrantBob Gregory

Dr. Jon GreifLawrence GriffithGaylene HallJanet HardinJon HarrisKyle HarrisLauralee HarrisDarrell HawkinsDr. Gary HedlundPaul C. HeintzRebecca HeiserJonathan HelfatDr. Stephen Helsel Deanna HenkleKelly HerreraKent HeynePaulette HinkenHMS Technologies Shelly HoganHolland Greenhouses Inc. David HolmquistAudra HoloweskoMichael HoltzLou HooverDana HopkinsDavid JacksonDr. Andrew JacobsEarnesteine JohnsonCarolyn JohnstonNance Joiner Bernard JonesKevin KeaneCarol KelleyKelly KimballRobert King

Rebecca KirchKirchoff ConsigliKNME-TVJessica M. Knutson Christopher KoenigsKohutek Engineering & TestingJane KornKeri Lukert KruppKS Commercial Real EstateMaria Kuklinski-Long Deborah Laclair

Reverend Daniel Lane Betsy LeadbetterLawrence LeisbergLou LemasterUnice Lieberman & Stephan Diamond Melinda LittleChiafen LiuDonna Lundy Dr. Daniel Lydiatt Rebecca MaherPamela R. MashburnAllyson MassencillWilliam MayerCarrie MayersThomas McAfeePatrick McCalebLiz Anne McElhaneyEileen McGrathPatrick McGuireKaren McKayBobbie McKeeArthur McKinneyKellie McMaster

Gary McMullenJarrod McNaughtonJeffrey MeyersChristine A. MilburnWilliam Miller, Jr.Philip MoilanenMonelli’s Italian Grill IncDr. A J MundtJames MurrayNASPCCMargot J. NormanAmy NostromRepresentative Tyler OlsonErin O’NeillJoanne O’RourkeLeonor PadillaCarla Palmer-GablinMary Pederson KoeneckeBruce PetersonDiane J. PhillipsEllen Phillips-AngelesDavid & Tina PidwellClare Bradley PolletDave PreblePresidents Club of South Central KentuckySusan Priestman Scott PullaraJames PurgersonJane PushkarMichael RaabeHolly Randall Cassie RayDr. Sanjay ReddySharon Regan

Antoinette ReinboldTodd RettigGail RichmanKatie RileyCatherine RobertsDorothy RoofRobert & Shirely RoofNancy RoseTamara RummelBrad RutledgeKatie RyanSummer RydelAnthony SalleroliDeborah Spence SchiroMike SchroederJane Schuler FlynnJeff SchultzMarlene ShareDr. John Simmons, Jr. A. J. SmithOlena SnowTash SoggSolace Spa at Boyne MountainAmy SpomerJeffrey SprungJennifer StalleyJack SteinmeyerPaul StierCharles StottDonal SullivanEileen SullivanJames SweeneyGary TancerAndrea Taurins

Dr. William ThorndykeBeverly TiradoGrace TomposTotal Health Solutions Inc.Town Square BankChristopher TroutJulie TurnerTurnkey PromotionsUruku Hair LoungeDr. Mark VangorderVascular Institute of KentuckyPaul VassarAnn VaughnJoseph J. VergaAlex VillarruzAndrew VolkPatrick WalshGailya WalterLaura WardVirginia WarrenWashington State Medical Association

Dr. W. Bedford Waters Kristine WeaverJeanne WeisSteven WeissMike WheelerJohn WhitmireThomas WilliamsCarol and Steve WinterbourneDavid WoodmanseeDr. Herb Zaretsky

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Special ThanksListed below are individuals and organizations that helped make 2011 such a successful year in advocacy. The list is by no means exhaustive, so an additional thank you is extended to those not specifically mentioned. Please know that your contributions did not go unnoticed.

ACS CAN Board of Directors

American Cancer Society Board of DirectorsAmerican Cancer Society Division Boards of DirectorsAmerican Cancer Society CEO’s Strategic Operations Advocacy Advisory Group State Lead AmbassadorsAmbassador Constituent TeamsAmerican Cancer Society StaffAmerican Cancer Society Division StaffACS CAN Staff

Coaches vs. Cancer®

Jamie Dixon, University of Pittsburgh Matt Brown, University of Missouri Kansas City Matt Doherty, Southern Methodist University Reggie Minton, National Association of Basketball Coaches

American Cancer Society Colleges Against Cancer®

American Cancer Society Making Strides Against Breast Cancer®

American Cancer Society Relay For Life®

American Cancer Society National Relay For Life Business UnitAmerican Cancer Society National Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Business Unit

The House Cancer CaucusThe Senate Cancer Coalition

James Allred George W.P. AtkinsLance Armstrong Stephen BaskinBeth Beck Paul Bird, Esq. Greg BontragerOtis W. Brawley, MD Lori Bremner Wade Brockway Ali Brown The Honorable Michael BurgessKipp Burgoyne Capital Breast Care CenterThe Honorable Lois CappsAlanna Clair, Esq. – JAIFrancis Collins, MD, PhD Martha Cox, Esq.The Honorable Rosa DeLauro Doug Demark PhotographyThe Honorable Charles Dent Nancy-Ann DeParle Ron Diehl Brian Eberle, Esq. Tracy Elliman Stacey Ferguson Elizabeth T.H. Fontham, MPH, DrPHGeorgetown Cupcake

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Special Thanks The Honorable Kay Granger

Hargrove, Inc.The Honorable Tom HarkinLee Helman, MDIKONBen Huggins Kevin Janes, PhDReuel Johnson Lindsay Kaplan, Esq. Laci Kazanovicz, Esq. J. Len Lichtenfeld, MD, MACPW. Marston Linehan, MDJohn Longstreth, Esq. Claire Maddox, Esq. Marriott Courtyard Washington Convention CenterSummer Martin, Esq.The Honorable James McGovernThe Honorable Jerry MoranNatalie Morrison Terry MusicNational Football League National Institutes of Health Clinical CenterWilliam O’Brien, Esq. One Night RodeoEdward E. Partridge, MDPartyLiteKim Pendarvis Marcus Plescia, MD, MPH

Gary M. Reedy Emanuel Rouvelas, Esq.Laurice Rutledge, Esq. Jim SatalinKathleen Sebelius John R. Seffrin, PhDTom SheridanTanya Snyder Soapbox ConsultingPat SpainMolly Suda, Esq.Stephen L. Swanson Alan G. Thorson, MD, FACS The University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer CenterUniversity of California, San Diego Moores Cancer CenterThe University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer CenterRachael Vieder The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz Louis M. Weiner, MD Amy and Taylor WilhiteRobert E. Youle, Esq.David Zacks, Esq.

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Dear Friends,

The American Cancer Society and its nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), achieved a significant milestone in 2011 in fighting cancer through advocacy – the 10th anniversary of the creation of ACS CAN. The occasion was marked with nationwide celebrations of ACS CAN’s progress in supporting laws and poli-cies that help individuals and families battle cancer. More than 100,000 people shared personal milestones achieved because of advances in cancer research, and ACS CAN volunteers, in turn, shared those milestones with our nation’s elected leaders.

The year’s celebrations were not limited to past achievements, however. Despite a tough budget environment, sustained efforts by ACS CAN advocates across the country proved successful when Congress passed a budget that made the fight against cancer a top priority, increasing funding for research in a way that leverages past discoveries and promotes future advances. ACS CAN and Society Divisions also led the charge to defend lifesaving cancer programs in the states where fiscal woes remain at the top of governors’ and legislators’ agendas.

The past year was also notable for the ongoing work to implement patient protections that improve access to quality health care, and to protect funding for important preventive care initiatives in current law. These preventive measures are critical to improving the lives of cancer patients and their families. They require robust engagement on the regulatory and legislative front at both the state and federal levels to ensure they are carried out effectively.

ACS CAN and Society Divisions across the country also prevailed over a number of tobacco industry attempts to revoke or under-mine existing laws and policies aimed at reducing tobacco use and protecting children from tobacco’s deadly effects. Compre-hensive smoke-free laws were enacted in multiple communities across 11 states while three states increased cigarette taxes.

I continue to be struck by the dedication, energy, and skill of Society and ACS CAN volunteers and staff nationwide. Thank you for all you do to make our continued success possible.

Christopher W. HansenPresident, ACS CAN

Christopher W HansenPresident, ACS CAN

www.acscan.org

©2012 Cancer Action Network No. 7660.11

2011 Advocacy Accomplishments

Advocacy in ActionA decade dedicated to making

cancer a top priority