As part of this nationwide initiative, which is an unprecedented effort in the 94-year history of the organization, the Society is devoting significant resources towards an aggressive public awareness campaign that highlights the barriers that average Americans confront when facing cancer.

"The American Cancer Society believes that, after tobacco use, lack of access to quality health care in the United States could be the biggest barrier to continued progress in the fight against cancer," said Dr. Richard C. Wender, ACS volunteer president.

The Society’s goal is to bring the access to care issue to the attention of the public and our policymakers for discussion and an eventual consensus on healthcare reform that will improve access to health care for all people, and therefore, greatly reduce the death rates from cancer and other major chronic diseases.

Michigan resident Linda Liebe knows firsthand the value of health care insurance. She was looking forward to some time off after leaving a job and opted out of COBRA, which is temporary insurance for individuals between jobs.

"I wasn’t anticipating any illness and just figured if I got sick I’d go to the doctor. No big deal. Then I found a lump," recalled Linda. "My first thought was ’Oh, my God.’ My second thought was, ’Oh my God, I don’t have any insurance.’ I thought my situation was hopeless and made arrangements to go to a facility in Colorado and die."

For Linda, the unexpected need for insurance seemed life threatening and her situation isn’t uncommon. Forty-seven million Americans are uninsured and 17 million more are underinsured, meaning their insurance fails to provide adequate coverage when they are diagnosed with cancer. Nearly half of uninsured cancer patients said they used up all or most of their savings as a result of the financial cost of cancer, and 1 in 5 insured cancer patients said they used up all or most of their savings.

Statistics show that lack of insurance can be devastating for cancer patients. Due to costs, 4 in 10 cancer patients skip treatment, cut pills, or avoid filling prescriptions. Society researchers have found that the uninsured and people with Medicaid are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced cases of cancer than those with private insurance.

In Linda’s case, her story had a happy ending. She qualified for some help from Michigan’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program (BCCCP), which she credits with helping to save her life.

"In December 2006, I was diagnosed with cancer a second time. But now I am working, have my health benefits, and feel ready to take on cancer and win."

But millions of individuals with cancer aren’t so lucky and still need access to care.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the sister advocacy organization to the Society, is helping lead the drive to make access to health care a national priority. From passing laws improving access to life-saving screenings to ensuring the ongoing development of new cancer treatments, ACS CAN is dedicated to making meaningful access to health care a reality.

For more information on the campaign and to find out how you can get involved, visit www.cancer.org/access.

Pictured: Access to Care website