The American Cancer Society’s mission is to save lives, celebrate lives, and lead the fight for
a world without cancer.

● We help people stay well, get well, find cures, and fight back.
● Death rates could decrease 40-50 percent if we focus on those things we already know to do.
● The American Cancer Society confirmed the link between smoking and lung cancer.
● We’re the largest private funder of cancer research in the US, second only to the US government.
● The American Cancer Society funded 49 Nobel prize winning researchers.
● The American Cancer Society proved the effectiveness of mammography in the 1980s and
successfully worked to pass legislation ensuring access to this cancer screening tool.
● We have helped more than three million uninsured, underinsured, and low-income women get breast and cervical cancer screening tests since 1991.
● We’ve played a role in nearly every cancer breakthrough in recent history.
● Nearly 80 percent of the US population now covered by a smoke-free law can breathe easier,
thanks in part to the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN).

WE ARE MAKING PROGRESS, BUT THERE IS MORE TO BE DONE
AND WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Cancer mortality rates in the US have fallen by over 20 percent during the past two decades:
that’s 500 lives saved from cancer every day. We are working to save 1,000 lives a day
domestically and one day 10,000 lives a day worldwide.

Today 2 out of 3 people diagnosed with cancer survive. Our goal is to make that 3 out of 3.
We are putting all of our efforts toward saving more lives, faster. Today we’re focusing on key
areas where we know we can make progress quickly. We’re honing in on the biggest cancer
killers, where we have proven strategies to help reduce the burden, like tobacco control and
colon cancer screening.