Topic : Mandatory Discussion Question

American Cancer Society (ACS) is committed to helping people stay well and get well by finding cures and by fighting back. There are tons of information on their website, cancer to learn about resources and support for cancer patients. ACS can be reached by phone 1-800-227-2345, there is also an opportunity for live chat on the web.

ACS will provide information's such as what cancer means, understanding one's diagnosis and finding and paying for treatment etc. I will recommend the services of finding treatment and paying for treatment.

This is because ACS will be in a better position to find where they can obtain best treatment and helping with the cost of treatment is a good thing due to disparity in health care and costs.

There are many factors that contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality rates of various cancers in America including obesity, age, gender, ethnicity, and changes in population estimates. Older individuals generally develop cancer more often than all other age groups. Also, the fact that population estimates are affected by the pattern of census bureau collection.

Cancer affects different populations differently, and minority groups in the United States continue to bear a greater cancer burden than whites. Much of this difference is due to factors like poverty and lack of access to prevention/detection services and high-quality treatment. The American Cancer Society supports research to help understand barriers to health care and create strategies for overcoming them.

Lower socioeconomic status income patients have higher death rates due to lack of medical care. Racial and ethnic minorities have greater cancer disparities due to the lack of health care services. (ACS, 2017). Changes in policies to increase the ability of individuals to get affordable health insurance and to receive proper preventive health services like health screenings, education on health-related issues and encourage healthy lifestyles and exercise will most likely affect this figures over time.

One research program that is funded by ACS is that of Cher Dallal, PhD, University of Maryland. Black and white women get breast cancer at roughly the same rate, but black women are more likely to die from it.

The key question researchers are still trying to answer is: Why? Dallal thinks she will find some answers by studying the relationships between a woman's activity level and her biological makeup.

She is looking for what are called biobehavioral links - ways your biology and your behavior interact. And she is focusing on how these connections play out in white versus black women who have survived breast cancer. When answers are found to this it will help in coming up with evidenced based practice that will help with prevention and or treatment.