Walker proclaims May 22nd "American Cancer Society Day"

MADISON (WITI) -- In honor of the American Cancer Society’s 100th Birthday, Governor Walker officially proclaimed May 22 as “American Cancer Society Day” and urges all residents of Wisconsin to join together to finish the fight against cancer.

The American Cancer Society was established in 1913 as American Society for the Control of Cancer, and after 100 years, has achieved many milestones in the fight against cancer. To commemorate the birthday, the Society’s advocacy affiliate, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), worked with the governor’s office to secure the proclamation.

“Over 100 years of saving lives and creating more birthdays, the American Cancer Society has led the way in transforming cancer from deadly to treatable and from treatable to preventable,” said Kathi Hansen, ACS CAN lead volunteer. “Silence won’t finish this fight – action will. As the American Cancer Society continues to invest in cancer research and provide support and information for people with the disease, ACS CAN is working with elected officials and grassroots advocates to make this cancer’s last century. Now is the time to join together to finish the fight.”

American Cancer Society Day is meant to inspire people in the community to look for ways to get involved in the fight against cancer. Through the American Cancer Society, people can become part of cancer’s next research breakthrough by enrolling in the organization’s Cancer Prevention Study-3, participate in a Relay For Life® event, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® walk or volunteer to help people with cancer in their community.

ACS CAN gives cancer patients and survivors a voice in calling on lawmakers to make the cancer fight a top priority. Through an extensive nationwide volunteer network, ACS CAN emphasizes the importance of federal funding for lifesaving cancer research and the need for people with cancer and their families to have access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings and smoke-free air in their communities.

In Wisconsin, ACS CAN has worked with the legislature to ensure all Wisconsin workers are protected from the deadly toxins in secondhand smoke by passing a statewide, comprehensive, smoke-free law, helped uninsured and underinsured, low-income women gain access to potentially lifesaving cancer screenings and treatments by protecting funding for the Wisconsin Well Woman Program and helped create more physical activity options in communities by passing legislation to allow community members to use school recreation facilities.

“We thank Governor Walker for his commitment to the fight against cancer by proclaiming May 22 as American Cancer Society Day,” said Hansen. “The American Cancer Society’s 100th birthday is an opportunity to get active in the battle to end cancer. We’ve never been more ready to work together to put the American Cancer Society out of business.”

Today, two out of three people with cancer survive for at least five years after diagnosis. The Society and ACS CAN have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the United States since the early 1990s – helping to save nearly 1.2 million lives during that time. In fact, more than 400 people a day in the United States are celebrating birthdays that would have otherwise been lost to the disease.

In 1944 the Society prioritized funding cancer research, and since then has funded 46 Nobel Laureates and is now the largest nongovernmental, not-for-profit funder of cancer research. The Society has played a role in nearly every cancer research breakthrough in recent history. Each year, they help cancer patients everywhere get the help they need when they need it. Last year alone the Society assisted more than a million people who called for help, providing free services like a place to stay while traveling for treatment, rides to treatment, emotional support and much more.

For more information about the Society’s 100th birthday and how to get involved visit www.cancer.org/fight.