Cancer is not just a medical issue, it is a political issue as well. From the local city council to the U.S. Congress, your American Cancer Society is engaged with elected and appointed officials to ensure that cancer remains a top local, state, and national priority.

Everyone has the potential to get cancer and the potential to cure it. Advocacy will help lead to a cure. Every day legislators are passing laws, writing bills, and allocating funds that impact cancer patients. Experience has shown that lawmakers are keenly interested in what their constituents have to say. By fighting for laws that protect cancer patients and that fund cancer research, advocates can help make a difference in millions of people’s lives.

The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is the non-profit, non-partisan sister advocacy organization of the American Cancer Society. ACS CAN is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major public health problem through voter education and issue campaigns aimed at influencing candidates and lawmakers to support laws and policies that will help people fight cancer.

Among other activities, ACS CAN:

• Engages in more active lobbying and public policy efforts on cancer issues for our constituents.
• Educates the public and media more directly.
• Holds our lawmakers accountable for their votes on cancer issues.
• Creates and distributes voter guides on specific health-related issues to volunteers and donors.
• Hosts debates, town forums, and other events where candidate views on issues are tested and discussed.

Joining the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network is one very easy and simple way to fight cancer in a big way. By joining ACS CAN, you play a critical role in the future of cancer funding and progress just by sharing your opinions with lawmakers.

Through advocacy, together we can be successful in eliminating suffering and death due to cancer. To get involved, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit online at www.acscan.org/indiana and www.acscan.org/michigan.