The American Cancer Society offers a multitude of resources to cancer patients all over the United States. The offer everything from education and support groups to research and financial assistance.
The American Cancer Society is community-based volunteer health organization that specializes in cancer research, treatments, as well as helping not just the patients but the families as well (ACS, 2017). ACS has a wide variety of options for services and recognizes that each person's situation is unique and different but they will have reliable options available to them (2017).
They also offer free wigs and lodging at centers if the patients treatment is too far from their own house to make the commute feasible (ACS, 2017).
If I had a friend that was recently diagnosed with cancer I would recommend them going to the American Cancer Society and formulating a specialized treatment plan with the providers. Once a treatment plan is in place then the people at ACS can help to determine how they can best meet his/her needs.
Factors that contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of cancers in Americans are: diet, exercise, stress, tobacco use, infectious agents, and environmental risk factors (ACS, 2017).
Americans tend to consume higher fat and processed food diets than most other countries with less exercise than other countries as well too (ACS, 2017). According to the American Cancer Society "An estimated 20% of all cancers diagnosed in the US are caused by a combination of excess body weight, physical inactivity, excess alcohol consumption, and poor nutrition, and thus could also be prevented (2017, p. 1)".
Mortality rates for Americans with cancer peaked in 1991 to 215 cases per 100,000 people then dropped significantly in 2017 to 100,000 - this equates to an approximate 25% decline (ACS, 2017). Part of the decline in mortality rates are linked to less Americans smoking and being more educated on the risks that lead to cancer (ACS, 2017). One change in policy that has helped with these rates is the early screening and detection that is being done in the US (ACS, 2017).
"The American Cancer Society has a long history of finding answers to critical questions about lung cancer - what causes it; how can it be prevented, detected, and treated successfully; and how lung cancer patients' quality of life can be improved. These efforts have helped reduce lung cancer death rates in men by 36% over the past two decades and in women by 11% since 2002. Despite this progress, lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death in the U.S. ".
In 2014 The American Cancer Society began a partnership with Stand Up To Cancer to help fund additional research for lung cancer and developing new therapies for lung cancer (ACS, nd). This research will have a significant impact on prevention and treatment of lung cancer worldwide. While it has been noted that smoking has declined this decline has been seen more significantly in younger women.
Older women continue to smoke and the rates for lung cancer in this population has increased (ACS, nd). Lung cancer is also caused by environmental exposures and performing research in this area will also help lead to a reduction in lung cancer rates in the future (ACS, nd).