In Your Community

In 2008, the American Cancer Society achieved the following results:

The American Cancer Society reached 43,000 newly diagnosed patients throughout New York and New Jersey. These patients were armed with information about diagnosis, treatment, and referral to ACS programs and community programs.

Hope Lodge New York City housed over 1,200 cancer patients and their caregivers. This life saving facility made it possible for those patients to receive the most specialized care at the best New York City hospitals without worrying about the financial burden of costly NYC lodging.

Nearly 100 American Cancer Society-funded scientists at 39 prestigious facilities in New York and New Jersey worked to unlock the doors to better cancer prevention and new treatments. There are now a total of 42 American Cancer Society-funded Nobel Prize Laureates to date.

Colorectal screening rates increased significantly, from 53 percent to 64 percent in New York. We partnered with the Academy of Family Physicians in both NY and NJ to train more than 440 family physicians and physicians’ assistants to increase colorectal cancer screening. In New York City, we provided nearly 2,900 colonoscopies to the uninsured, detected nine cancers and 554 pre-cancerous polyps.

We focused attention on the uninsured crisis by educating staff, volunteers, and public officials, building collaborations with health and labor groups, and securing media coverage. In New York, we hosted public hearings, legislative breakfasts, and business-labor roundtables to build grassroots support for meaningful health coverage.

The Advocacy department tirelessly legislates for smoking bans across the United States. As of late 2008, 16 states have banned smoking in bars, 23 have banned smoking in restaurants and 33 states have banned smoking on public transportation. Secondhand smoke is responsible for an estimated 3,000 lung cancer deaths in nonsmoking adults each year- a statistic that these bans aim to change.