| Hope. |
|
| 1946-present |
The Society has funded 40 Nobel
Prize winners, primarily in the beginning of their careers. |
|
| 1946 |
The Society research program begins
with $1 million raised by Mary Lasker. Nearly $3 billion has been
raised since the inception of the research program. |
|
| 1959 |
The Society launches the first
cancer prevention study (CPS I). Data from this study and the
subsequent 1982 study involves two million people and has been used in
more than 100 other research studies. |
|
| 1960 |
The Society begins a crusade to
gain acceptance of the Pap test. The death rate from cancer of the
uterine cervix has decreased more than 70% due to general acceptance of
this procedure. |
|
| 1960 |
The Society takes a leading role in
challenging and eliminating tobacco advertising. |
|
| 1969 |
The Society launches the Reach to
Recovery® program, through which trained
breast cancer survivors offer
hope and help women face the disease. |
|
| 1970s |
The Society awards $3 million for
the development and testing of the first biological therapy, alpha
interferon, now used in the treatment of some forms of leukemia and
childhood Wilms' tumor of the kidney. |
|
| 1971 |
The Society plays a leading role in
the passage of the National Cancer Act, which is considered the most
dramatic piece of health legislation ever enacted. It enables an
increase in funding for federal cancer research to more than $4 billion
per year today. |
|
| 1972 |
The Society awards a grant to Judah
Folkman, MD, to study blood vessel formation in tumors. |
|
| 1976 |
The California Division of the
American Cancer Society gets nearly one million smokers to quit for the
day, marking the first Great American Smokeout®,
which goes nationwide
the next year. |
|
| 1979 |
The Society begins I Can Cope®,
a
group program conducted by trained health care professionals for cancer
patients and their families and friends. |
|
| 1980 |
Early detection guidelines for
breast cancer are developed by the American Cancer Society. |
|
| 1981 |
Society Research Professor Robert
Weinberg, PhD, isolates the her-2/neu oncogene from a rat brain tumor. |
|
| 1981 |
Cancer camps for children open. |
|
| 1985 |
The first American Cancer Society
Relay For Life® is held in Tacoma,
Washington. By 2003, the event is
held in nearly 3,400 communities nationwide and raises more than one
billion dollars for the Society's cancer research, education, advocacy,
and patient services programs. |
|
| 1989 |
The Society teams with the
Personal Care Products Council (formerly the Cosmetic, Toiletry and
Fragrance Association, or CFTA) to produce
Look Good ... Feel Better®, a program
which helps women deal with the
appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. |
|
| 1990 |
The Americans with Disabilities
Act, which prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in
employment, public services, public accommodations, and transportation,
is passed. Persons with cancer or a history of cancer are protected
under this law. |
|
| 1992-1998 |
The Society spends over $100
million in research grants for breast cancer research. The Society
currently spends more on breast cancer than on any other solid tumor
site and is the largest non-governmental, not-for-profit source of
support for breast cancer research. |
|
| 1993 |
The Family and Medical Leave Act,
which entitles employees to take leave to care for a family member with
a serious illness is passed. This allows family members of cancer
patients to be able to participate in their care without jeopardizing
their own jobs. |
|
| 1993 |
The American Cancer Society's first
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® event is held in Boston.
Between
1993 and 2002, the event generates more than $100 million for breast
cancer research and services nationwide. |
|
| 1994 |
The Society's Man to Man®
program
begins, offering support and information to men with prostate cancer. |
|
| 1994 |
Reach to Recovery—a
program where
breast cancer survivors visit those who have been newly diagnosed to
offer hope and help—celebrates its 25th anniversary; more
than13,000
volunteers are involved. |
|
| 1995 |
With support from the Foundation
and the vision of volunteer Lana Rosenfeld, "tlc" Tender Loving Care®
magalog is published. It provides cancer patients and survivors with a
wide variety of affordable products, such as wigs, hats, and prostheses. |
|
| 1995 |
The Society launches the Behavioral
Research Center, developed to conduct high quality original research in
areas of particular relevance to the goals of the Society. This
research is intended to contribute to the understanding of behavioral
factors affecting cancer prevention, control, and recovery. |
|
| 1996 |
Society guidelines on diet,
nutrition and cancer affirm that one-third of all cancer deaths can be
prevented through healthy eating and physical activity. |
|
| 1996 |
The Health Insurance Reform and
Accountability Act (Kassebaum/Kennedy) passes, which allows workers who
lose or change jobs to buy health insurance for themselves and their
families, and which limits the ability of insurance companies to refuse
to cover people with pre-existing conditions or genetic predispositions
to disease. |
|
| 1997 |
The first overall downturn in
cancer mortality rates is documented (source: NCI)
- Overall cancer death rates fell 1.6% between 1991-95.
- Lung cancer for men fell 6.7% between 1991-95.
- Colorectal cancer fell 18.6% between 1973-93 and 5.4%
between 1991-95.
- Breast cancer fell 6.3% between 1991-95.
- Prostate cancer fell 6.2% between 1991-95.
- Testicular cancer fell 65.7% between 1973-93.
- Hodgkin's disease fell 58.4% between 1973-93.
- Leukemia in children dropped 52.9% between 1973-93.
- Cancers in children (up to age 14) fell 44.4% between
1973-93.
|
|
| 1997 |
The Society launches Reach to
Recovery early support visits (pre-operative support for women who have
a suspicious mammogram, or who have just been diagnosed and are looking
at treatment options). |
|
| 1998 |
First overall decrease in cancer
incidence rates is documented; overall cancer incidence rates fell 5.7%
between 1991-95. |
|
| 1999 |
To spread the message of
prevention, the Society doubles its resources available on the Web site
and extends the cancer information line to be available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society launches Y2Kidz.org, an
online think tank for youth designed to give insight into what kids
think about issues related to cancer and its prevention. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society works with the Cancer
Research Foundation of America and the National Colorectal Cancer
Roundtable to have March 2000 declared the first official National
Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month by the US Senate. |
|
| 1999 |
To raise awareness for prostate
cancer among men in the African-American community, the Society
conducts a national campaign featuring Harry and Shari Belafonte. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society partners with 100 Black
Men of America, Inc. in an aggressive outreach program called Let's
Talk About It: A Prostate Health Education Program for African-American
Men. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society celebrates the 30th
anniversary of the Reach to Recovery program by conducting Expressions
of Courage, a national juried art competition designed to celebrate the
spirit of breast cancer survivorship. The winning piece, "Light, Grace,
and Spirit," by Mississippi artist Paula Temple, vividly depicts the
breast cancer journey and has been exhibited nationwide and featured on
national television, furthering awareness of breast cancer diagnosis,
treatment, and recovery. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society teams with AirLifeLine,
a national, nonprofit organization that provides free air
transportation to patients who cannot afford the cost of travel to
medical facilities. |
|
| 1999 |
Relay For Life, the American Cancer
Society's signature activity, takes place in more than 2,500
communities across the country. |
|
| 2000 |
In March, the Society takes part in
the first National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, initiating a
multiyear strategy to educate the public and encourage men and women
aged 50 and older to get checked. The Society campaign includes the
"Things to Do Now That I'm 50" advertisement series, featuring role
models 50 or older, such as former professional basketball star Julius
"Dr. J" Erving and fashion designer Vera Wang. |
|
| 2000 |
The Society creates the first
national paid awareness campaign specifically targeted to promote its
breast cancer programs and services. |
|
| 2000 |
The Society launches the Cancer
Survivors Network, created by and for cancer survivors and families to
address their need to connect with others, who have been touched by
cancer, share experiences, and support one another. |
|
| 2000 |
Tobacco farmers sue cigarette
makers for $69 billion, claiming manufacturers conspired to undo
federal systems regulating tobacco prices. |
|
| 2001 |
The Society launches a new and
improved Web site (www.cancer.org). |
|
| 2001 |
The Society celebrates the 25th
anniversary of the Great American Smokeout. |
|
| 2001 |
Through its extramural research
grants program, the Society (as of July 2001) has funded 184 research
projects relating to breast cancer, totaling almost $62 million. |
|
Progress. |
|
| 1946-1993 |
Smoking drops from 45% of the
population to 25%. |
|
| 1946 |
Wendell Stanley, PhD, becomes the
first Society-funded researcher to win the Nobel Prize (for
crystallizing a virus). |
|
| 1947 |
Society-funded Sidney Farber, MD,
obtains remission in childhood leukemia with an antifolate drug,
aminopterin, the first successful chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Chemotherapy saves thousands of lives each year. |
|
| 1953 |
Society-funded James Watson, PhD
with Francis Crick, PhD, establishes the double helical structure of
DNA, for which he is awarded the Nobel Prize in 1962. |
|
| 1953 |
Radiation therapy is first used to
ease pain from cancer and later shown to produce 40% of all cures. |
|
| 1954 |
The Society's Hammond-Horn study
confirms the link between smoking and lung cancer. |
|
| 1955 |
Society-funded Charles Huggins,
PhD, pioneers early work showing that both prostate and breast cancer
are related to sex hormones. He receives the Nobel Prize in 1966. |
|
| 1955 |
Society-funded Emil J. Freireich,
MD, and colleagues design the first scientific clinical trial for
combination cancer chemotherapy; by 1962 they achieve a 15% cure rate
in childhood leukemia. |
|
| 1959 |
The Society's Cancer Prevention
Study I (CPS I) begins, which shows that cigarette smoking leads to
early death from lung cancer. |
|
| 1960 |
The Society crusades to gain
acceptance of the Pap test, developed by George Papanicolaou, MD, PhD.
The widespread adoption of this simple test has resulted in more than a
70% decrease in mortality from cancer of the uterine cervix. |
|
| 1962 |
Hamilton Smith, MD, and Daniel
Nathans, MD, discover restriction enzymes. Although the importance of
this discovery was not realized for 10 years, it was crucial to the
later development of genetic engineering and gene cloning. Both
Society-funded researches win the Nobel Prize in 1978. |
|
| 1966 |
Elwood Jensen, MD, and Eugene
deSombre, PhD, describe the existence of protein receptors that bind to
sex hormones and carry out their functions. |
|
| 1966 |
Henry Lynch, MD, describes the
first hereditary cancer family syndrome. |
|
| 1968 |
Donald Pinkel, MD uses high-dose
radiation to prevent central nervous system cancer relapses and
achieves a 35% cure rate in childhood leukemia. |
|
| 1970s |
Epidemiological evidence analyzed
by Brian McMahon, MD, shows that breast cancer is related to the length
of a woman's lifetime exposure to reproductive hormones. |
|
| 1970s |
Joseph Bertino, MD, and Robert
Schimke, MD, work out the mechanisms of drug resistance. |
|
| 1970 |
The first cancer-causing gene, or
oncogene, is identified by Society grantee Peter Vogt, MD, in a chicken
tumor virus. |
|
| 1971 |
The Society plays a leading role in
the passage of the National Cancer Act, which is considered the most
dramatic piece of health legislation ever enacted. It enables an
increase in funding for federal cancer research to more than $4 billion
per year today. |
|
| 1973 |
Society-funded Paul Berg, PhD,
clones the first gene (Nobel Prize in 1980). |
|
| 1974 |
Society-funded V. Craig Jordan,
PhD, shows that tamoxifen can prevent breast cancer in rats by binding
to the estrogen receptor. |
|
| 1976 |
Society-funded J. Michael Bishop,
MD, and Harold Varmus, MD, discovers oncogenes in normal DNA,
suggesting that a normal gene already present in the cell has the
potential of becoming an oncogene. They receive a Nobel Prize in 1989. |
|
| 1978 |
Society-funded Tony Hunter, PhD,
and Bart Sefton, PhD, provide the first clue to the biological function
of an oncogene, in this case an enzyme involved in cellular
communication. |
|
| 1978 |
Society-funded Clara Bloomfield,
MD, demonstrates chromosome rearrangement in leukemia and opened up the
field of cytogenetics. |
|
| 1978 |
Tamoxifen is approved by the FDA
for treating estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. Society-funded
Bernard Fisher, MD, Richard Love, MD, and V. Craig Jordan, PhD, develop
and carry out the first trial of tamoxifen to prevent recurrence in
breast cancer survivors. |
|
| 1978 |
Society-funded Walter Gilbert, MD,
(and Maxine Sanger, PhD), develop a technique to sequence DNA. They
receive the Nobel Prize in 1980. |
|
| 1979 |
Society-funded Robert Weinberg,
PhD, demonstrates the first biologically active human oncogene from a
human bladder cancer; more than 50 human oncogenes are known today. |
|
| 1979 |
Society-funded Arnold Levine, MD,
and David Baltimore, PhD, discover the p53 protein; later shown to be a
mutated tumor suppressor gene in more than half of all cancers. |
|
| 1980 |
Society-funded E. Donnall Thomas,
MD, pioneers the technique of bone marrow transplantation to treat
cancer. He receives the Nobel Prize in 1990. |
|
| 1981 |
Society-funded T. Ming Chu, PhD and
Gerald P. Murphy, MD, DSc,
develop the prostate specific antigen (PSA) test for screening and
early detection of prostate cancer. |
|
| 1982 |
The Society launches Cancer
Prevention Study II (CPS II) of 1.2 million volunteers to determine
risk factors for cancer mortality. To date, the study has demonstrated
that (1) diets rich in fruits and vegetables and aspirin independently
reduce risk of fatal colon cancer; (2) post-menopausal estrogen
replacement therapy reduces mortality from colon cancer, slightly
increases death from ovarian cancer, and may slightly decrease risk of
death from breast cancer; and (3) secondhand smoke increases mortality
from lung cancer and heart disease. |
|
| 1982 |
Society Clinical Research Professor
Ronald Levy, MD, first successfully treats cancer (lymphoma) with a
monoclonal antibody. |
|
| 1985 |
Society-funded Edward Harlow, PhD,
clones the mutant p53 gene. |
|
| 1985 |
Society-funded Bernard Fisher, MD,
demonstrates that lumpectomy plus radiation is equivalent to mastectomy
for breast cancer survival. |
|
| 1986 |
Society-funded Robert Weinberg,
PhD, clones the first of some 20 now-known tumor suppressor genes, the
retinoblastoma gene of a childhood eye cancer. |
|
| 1988 |
Society-funded Dennis Slamon, MD,
discovers that too much her-2/neu receptor is a feature of
approximately 30% of the most aggressive breast cancers. |
|
| 1990 |
Society-funded Mary-Claire King,
PhD, localizes the BRCA1 gene for inherited susceptibility to breast
cancer to a specific site on chromosome 17. (BRCA1 was cloned by Mark
Scolnick at Myriad Genetics in 1994.) |
|
| 1990 |
Society-funded Waun Ki Hong, MD,
completes the first chemoprevention trial to show efficacy (vitamin A
analogue against mouth and throat tumors). |
|
| 1991-1993 |
Society-funded Bert Vogelstein, MD,
and Richard Kolodner, PhD, clone several genes for inherited
susceptibility to colon cancer. |
|
| 1996 |
Society-funded Waun Ki Hong, MD,
initiates phase I trial of p53 gene therapy in lung cancer. |
|
| 1996 |
Society-funded Mary-Claire King,
PhD, and collaborators cure transplanted human breast tumors in mice
with BRCA1 gene therapy; phase I trial of BRCA1 gene therapy in human
ovarian cancer begins. |
|
| 1996 |
The FDA announces a new initiative
to speed development and availability of new drugs, including
anti-cancer therapies. |
|
| 1996 |
The Study of Cancer
Survivors—a
nationwide, prospective, population-based, longitudinal study of the
needs and quality of life of cancer survivors—is initiated by
the
Society's Behavioral Research Center. |
|
| 1997 |
Society-funded Thomas Cech, PhD,
and Robert Weinberg, PhD, clone the gene for telomerase believed to be
specific for cancer cells. |
|
| 1997 |
Society-funded Judah Folkman, MD,
and Timothy Browder, MD cure cancer in mice by blocking tumor blood
supply with angiostatin and endostatin. |
|
| 1998 |
The five-year relative survival
rate improves to 58%. (In 1960, it was 37% for men and 39% for women.) |
|
| 1999 |
The 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology
and Medicine is awarded to former Society grantee Gunter Blobel, MD,
PhD, in recognition of his discovery that proteins have intrinsic
signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society targets up to 10% of
its research grant expenditures to study cancer in poor and underserved
populations. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society funds more than $100
million in cancer research and health professional training, a 7%
increase over 1998. |
|
| 1999 |
Through its advocacy efforts in
1999, the Society secures additional federal funding for cancer
research, prevention, and early detection, as well as for quality
cancer care for the medically underserved. |
|
| 1999 |
Through Operation Settle Up, the
Society helps secure nearly $300 million in settlement money earmarked
for state tobacco prevention and control programs. |
|
| 1999 |
The American Cancer Society Action
Network continues to grow in 1999, with more than 112,000 members
throughout the country. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society awards its largest
single scientific research grant to date. Gary R. Morrow, PhD, of the
University of Rochester and a new American Cancer Society Research
Scholar, receives a five-year grant for $1.7 million for research into
predicting the side effects of certain types of cancer treatment. |
|
| 2000 |
The sequencing of the human genome
is completed. Several Society grantees help to pioneer this research. |
|
| 2000 |
Society Clinical Research Professor
Ronald Levy, MD, uses a DNA chip to differentiate two forms of
lymphoma, only one of which responds to therapy. Now doctors can
determine with almost 100% accuracy whether certain lymphomas will
respond to therapy. This discovery also provides clues to developing
therapies for less responsive forms of cancer. |
|
| 2000 |
Society epidemiologists prove that
long-term cigarette smoking is associated with increased risk of death
from colon cancer. |
|
| 2000 |
Former Society grantee Brian
Druker, MD, reports stunning success in treating chronic myelogenous
leukemia with a molecularly targeted pill called Gleevec (manufactured
by Novartis). |
|
| 2000 |
The Society launches the Campaign
Against Cancer grassroots initiative to place cancer on the agenda of
every major presidential candidate. |
|
| 2000 |
The US Supreme Court finds that the
FDA lacks authority to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug. The
Supreme Court concludes Congress must pass legislation granting the FDA
the authority to regulate tobacco. |
|
| 2001 |
The House of Representatives passes
the "Bipartisan Patient Protection Act," also known as the Patients'
Bill of Rights. The House bill contains the same strong patient
protections included in the Senate-passed bill. Access to clinical
trials, continuity of care, and access to specialists remain key to the
passage of this bill. |
|
| 2001 |
Walgreens, the nation's largest
drugstore chain, presents a check for $1,374,000 to the Society in
October, representing contributions made during the "Hope Blooms with
You" campaign to raise funds to help fight breast cancer. The
contribution almost doubles the previous year's $700,000. |
|
| 2001 |
Tobacco prevention and health
allocation dollars at the state level increase by $122.91 million. |
|
| 2003 |
American Cancer Society
researchers, led by Eugenia Calle, PhD, conclude that overweight and
obesity contribute to most types of cancer and could account for 14
percent of cancer deaths in men and 20 percent of cancer deaths in
women---an average of one out of every six cancers diagnosed. |
|
| 2004 |
Three Society-funded researchers
are awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry, bringing to 38 the number of
Society-supported researchers who have won the prize. Irwin A. Rose,
PhD; Avram Hershko, MD, PhD; and Aaron Ciechanover, MD, were awarded
for their collective groundbreaking work discovering how cells mark and
then destroy unwanted proteins. |
|
Answers |
|
| 1970 |
The Surgeon General concurs with
the findings of Society research irrefutably linking cigarette smoking
to cancer. |
|
| 1970s |
The Society invests more than $1
million to demonstrate that mammography is the best tool for detecting
breast cancer early. |
|
| 1982 |
The Society joins with the American
Heart Association and American Lung Association to form the Coalition
on Smoking or Health to advocate for federal tobacco control policy,
including strengthened warning labels on cigarettes and smokeless
tobacco; FDA regulation of tobacco; restrictions on tobacco
advertising; increases in the federal tobacco excise tax; and smoking
restrictions in public places, including airlines, trains, buses,
hospitals, and federal buildings. |
|
| 1986 |
The Surgeon General's Report
concludes environmental smoke (secondhand smoke) is a cause of cancer
in healthy nonsmokers. |
|
| 1989 |
Legislation passes allowing
Medicare coverage for Pap smears. |
|
| 1990 |
The Society pushes legislation for
clean indoor air acts in local communities, tobacco taxation, and
elimination tobacco industry advertising targeting children. |
|
| 1990 |
The Nutrition Labeling and
Education Act passes, providing adequate and accurate nutrition labels
on food products. |
|
| 1990 |
The Breast and Cervical Cancer
Mortality Prevention Act is passed, which provides grants to states to
establish programs for breast and cervical cancer screening, case
management, outreach and education. Programs that serve low-income and
underserved women are a priority. |
|
| 1990 |
The Society drafts the first annual
Congressional resolution designating October as National Breast Cancer
Awareness Month. |
|
| 1990 |
Legislation passes that includes
Medicare coverage of screening mammograms for women older than 65 every
two years. |
|
| 1990 |
At the 7th World Conference on
Tobacco or Health in Perth, Australia, Society representatives launch
the "Trade for Life" program to fight the aggressive marketing of
cigarettes in developing countries. |
|
| 1991 |
Society-funded research shows that
young children recognize Joe Camel as easily as Mickey Mouse,
demonstrating that the cartoon character reaches an audience well under
the legal smoking age. |
|
| 1991 |
The American Stop Smoking
Intervention Study for Cancer Prevention (ASSIST) Program launches.
This is the world's largest demonstration project for tobacco control
and is a joint effort between the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and
the Society. |
|
| 1992 |
The Mammography Quality Standards
Act passes, regulating mammography screening facilities, providers, and
equipment. |
|
| 1992 |
The Cancer Registries Amendment Act
passes, establishing a national program of cancer registries. |
|
| 1992 |
Sixty-six percent of women older
than 40 report having had a mammogram (up 22% from 1979). |
|
| 1993 |
The US Environmental Protection
Agency classifies environmental tobacco smoke as a Group A (known
human) carcinogen. |
|
| 1993 |
Legislation passes allowing
Medicare coverage for oral forms of intravenous cancer drugs and some
off-label use of drugs for treating cancer. |
|
| 1994 |
The Society introduces a cancer
risk prevention curriculum for Grades four through six called "Do It
Yourself: Making Healthy Choices." |
|
| 1994 |
The Society asks the FDA to
reconsider regulation of tobacco products and prompts congressional
hearings. |
|
| 1994 |
The goals 2000: Educate America Act
is passed, containing the following provisions:
- An objective that all students will have access to
physical education and health education
- A requirement that tobacco be included in the drug
and alcohol curriculum as part of comprehensive, sequential school
health education
- "The Pro-Children Act" providing smoke-free
environments to children under age 18 by requiring that federally
funded programs establish nonsmoking policies whenever they provide
health, day care, education, or library services to children
|
|
| 1994 |
The US Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA) proposes regulations requiring smoke-free
policies in six million workplaces under its jurisdiction. In the same
year, the US Department of Defense, the world's largest employer, bans
smoking in all DOD workplaces. |
|
| 1995 |
The country's first National Health
Education Standards are developed. |
|
| 1995 |
The American Cancer Society Breast
Cancer Network, which coordinates all Society resources and programs
fighting breast cancer launches. |
|
| 1995 |
The Society launches its Web site.
The site received more than three million visitors in 2002. |
|
| 1995 |
The Society participates in
establishing the Intercultural Cancer Council (ICC). |
|
| 1996 |
The FDA issues its final rule on
regulation of tobacco, with provisions to:
- Reduce access to tobacco products by children and
youth
- Ban advertising that appeals to children
- Educate children about the dangers of tobacco
|
|
| 1997 |
The Society launches its new
800-number cancer information delivery system. The call center
responded to more than 1.3 million callers in 2002. |
|
| 1997 |
State attorneys general reach a
preliminary settlement with the tobacco industry on pending state
lawsuits to recover Medicaid costs for treating tobacco-related illness. |
|
| 1997 |
In response to petitions filed by
the Society and other organizations, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)
files charges against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company for unfair
advertising practices, claiming that the "Joe Camel" advertising
campaign encourages children to smoke. Shortly thereafter, RJR
announces the elimination of Joe Camel from its advertising campaign. |
|
| 1997 |
Medicare approves coverage for
cancer screening exams, including:
- Coverage for mammography extended from biennial to
annual coverage for Medicare beneficiaries age 40 and over, with the
deductible waived;
- Pap smear coverage extended to every three years, and
annually for high-risk women, with deductibles waived for Pap smears
and pelvic exams;
- Coverage for colorectal cancer screening;
- Coverage for prostate cancer screening to begin in
2000
|
|
| 1998 |
The FDA approves the use of
tamoxifen to reduce the risk of breast cancer following a report by
former Society grantee Bernard Fisher, MD. |
|
| 1998 |
The FDA approves the use of
Herceptin, a monoclonal antibody developed by former Society grantee
Dennis Slamon, MD, for treatment of certain breast cancers. |
|
| 1998 |
Despite the US Senate's failure to
enact national comprehensive tobacco control legislation, the tobacco
industry reaches settlement with attorneys general in all 50 states in
lawsuits to recover Medicaid costs of tobacco-related illnesses. Four
states—Mississippi, Texas, Florida, and
Minnesota—reached individual
settlements with the industry. The other 46 states agreed to a joint
settlement requiring annual industry payments to states totaling
approximately $206 billion through 2025. |
|
| 1999 |
The Society revises its Web site
and doubles the number of resources it provides. New features include
prevention and early detection information, information on health care
providers and hospitals, a cancer drug database, and a state-by-state
directory of cancer resources. |
|
| 1999 |
The Department of Justice files
suit against cigarette manufacturers, charging the industry with
defrauding the public by lying about the risks of smoking. |
|
| 2000 |
The Society helps secure $300
million in new funds for comprehensive tobacco control, thanks to
investments in state-based campaigns. |
|
| 2000 |
The federal Breast and Cervical
Cancer Treatment Act is passed, which provides treatment for low-income
women diagnosed with cancer. |
|
| 2000 |
New York imposes fire-safety
standards on cigarettes. |
|
| 2001 |
The Surgeon General issues Women
and Smoking, a report detailing the health impact of smoking among
women and girls. Lung cancer accounts for 25% of all cancer deaths
among women. |
|
| 2001 |
The Presidential Tobacco Commission
issues its final report. Tobacco growers and public health advocates
urge enactment of strong FDA regulation of the tobacco industry. |
|
| 2001 |
The Society takes the lead in
successfully convincing Congress to enact new legislation to extend
Medicare coverage of colonoscopy to average-risk individuals age 50 or
older. |
|
| 2001 |
The Society leads the way to ensure
strong coverage for colorectal screening. In 2001, six additional
states enacted screening bills meeting Society requirements, bringing
the total up to 14 states nationwide. |
|
| 2001 |
15 states adopt provisions ensuring
coverage of the routine patient costs associated with clinical
trials—up from 12 states the previous year. |
|
| 2001 |
In just ten months, the Society
helps lead the effort to have 45 states take legislative action toward
implementing the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act. |
|
| 2002 |
Relay For Life® Celebration
on the
Hill unites volunteers representing every state and Congressional
district in the country. More than 3,000 volunteer community
ambassadors and thousands more volunteers and survivors join forces in
Washington, D.C. to advocate for better laws to help all Americans
fight cancer. |
|
| 2002 |
The Society launches a new 501(c)4
sister organization—the American Cancer Society Cancer Action
Network—to provide new opportunities for voter education and
direct
advocacy for cancer legislation. |
|
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