American Cancer Society - Great West Division Programs
Patient Services
Our Cancer Resource Network provides newly diagnosed cancer patients and others affected by cancer in King County with the resources and support they need to manage the cancer experience, from time of diagnosis through treatment and into survivorship. Our hospital-based staff and trained volunteers deliver personalized information, address barriers to care, and provide community-based programs to offer emotional support, increase coping skills and improve quality of life.
Education/Wellness
The American Cancer Society educates the general public and health care providers with reliable cancer information through our National Cancer Information Center, our website and our annual "Cancer Facts and Figures" publication. We offer cancer screening guidelines that reflect the most current research findings. We also offer workplace wellness solutions that promote nutrition, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and worksite policy changes to encourage healthy behavior.
Research
The Society is the largest source of private funding for cancer research in the US with over $4 billion invested to date nationwide including millions of dollars in research funding at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. We focus on beginning researchers and novel ideas that will “jump start” innovative research. However, for every 10 research grants approved through our rigorous peer review process, only one grant is awarded due to lack of funding.
Recent Successes and Current Challenges
Cancer never sleeps- and neither does the American Cancer Society. We're here whenever, wherever people need us with the information, day-to-day help, and support needed throughout a cancer experience, online, on the phone, and in your community. The Society's website, cancer.org, has recieved 17 million unique visitors with over 22 million hits. Our cancer information specialists have answered more than 14.5 million calls since 1997.
We know more today about how to prevent, detect, and treat cancer than at any other point in history, thanks in part to the American Cancer Society's 65 years of work finding answers about the disease. As the largest private, not-for-profit funder of cancer research in the nation, the Society is leading the way in the fight to find cures that will help save more lives faster. In 2011 alone, the American Cancer Society invested $148.5 million in research which aided in over 1,024,400 United States cancer deaths avoided in the past 2 decades.
One of the largest needs in King County is assistance with transportation to treatment, is is the number one request we receive from patients. Gas costs are a barrier to treatment for cancer patients, forcing many to choose between paying for gas to get to treatment and paying for food and other necessities. Local island-dwelling patients face the additional costs of frequent ferry rides, and elderly patients rely on our volunteer-based Road to Recovery program, which is struggling to keep pace with demand.