American Cancer Society University

The American Cancer Society University (ACSU) is a week-long training program that convenes Indian cancer and tobacco control professionals to learn specific skills and community-based strategies to fight cancer. Sessions taught by Indian and American Cancer Society experts include:

  • Implementing Smoke-Free Laws
  • Establishing Patient Support Programs
  • Improving Access to Pain Management
  • Recruiting and Training Volunteers
  • Fundraising
  • Media Relations
  • Advocacy
  • Strategic and Program Planning
  • Palliative Care

The first ACSU in India, held in Chennai in December 2005, provided a platform for professionals from NGOs and cancer centers in India to form a network of dedicated cancer control leaders across India.

The second ACSU, held in New Delhi in April, 2007 delved deeply into three focus areas: implementation of the central government’s ban on smoking in public places; addressing palliative care through improved pain policy; and increasing patient support services.

This historic ACSU included the first-ever journalist “boot camp” on cancer and tobacco in India. More than 20 of India’s top journalists convened to hear the about these critical health issues from the Indian Minister of Health, leading health care professionals from across the nation, and experts from the American Cancer Society, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization. The ACSU participants and the journalists held a special joint session to discuss how NGOs and journalists can use the power of the media to raise awareness of cancer and tobacco.

To date, more than 60 cancer organizations have participated in the American Cancer Society University programs in India.

At the conclusion of the weeklong training, trainees are invited to apply for competitive seed grants to implement programs with learning from the training. Each seed grant recipient receives ongoing technical assistance.

How ACSU training and funding can help save lives

When female health workers showed up at her door and told Tavishi (not her real name), a 24-year-old mother of three living in a low-income neighborhood in Kolkata, that she should go to a clinic for a cervical screening exam, she was skeptical.

Tavishi, like many other women in the Kolkata neighborhood with whom the health care workers met, knew very little about cervical cancer—either that it was a deadly killer among women in India, or that it was largely preventable and treatable with early detection.

Going to homes to talk to families was part of a bold cervical and breast cancer awareness and screening campaign organized by the Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation (SDMF). After SDMF Secretary and Chief Functionary Samiran Das received training and funding from the American Cancer Society University program, Mr. Das mobilized this campaign in partnership with the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute to save lives by canvassing neighborhoods, changing mindsets, and providing screenings. These efforts achieved remarkable results, with 75% of the women targeted seeking early detection and counseling services.

Tavishi was one of the women whose life may have been saved by the effort. Clinicians found a pre-cancerous lesion in her cervix, and then convinced the family to seek a biopsy and further treatment. The SDMF made the arrangements with the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, paid Tavishi’s husband one day’s wages so that he could escort her, provided a social worker to escort the couple, and also paid for a car to transport the whole group.

After receiving the successful treatment, Tavishi now leads a happy and normal life. Grateful to be alive, Tavishi now shares her experience with other women in her community in an effort to promote the benefits of early detection.

Who participates in ACSU?

Indian Cancer Society, Cancer Patients Aid Association, Cancer Foundation of India, Tata Memorial Cancer Center (Mumbai), Cancer Institute WIA (Chennai), and the Indian Cooperative Oncology Network to name just a few of our partners who’ve participated in our trainings.