American Cancer Society
American Cancer Society
Effective management of cancer entails prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment, education, support for the persons with this condition and continued research. Many organizations in the contemporary world have geared efforts towards all these elements of management. A befitting example of such is the American Cancer Society (ACS). An analysis of how this institution can achieve these functions is the central idea of this discussion.
Education and Support
ACS has shown commitment to cancer prevention and management through education and support. Such is the case given that ACS has tailored comprehensive educational programs that provide insight into the disease and its management. Moreover, with its network of support groups, the ACS is in pole position to offer support for cancer individuals (American Cancer Society, 2016). As such, a friend or a family member with a recently diagnosed cancer may as well undergo an educational program and support services by this institution. For instance, ACS will teach the individual on how to cope with the condition offer guidance that will enhance his/her focus on getting well. Additionally, linking the individual to this organization will provide him an opportunity of getting the much-needed support from the network of support groups affiliated to ACS.
An ACS service that I may recommend to the patient is the patient navigator program. A program of this kind will earn the patient an opportunity of getting a person that listens to his/her concerns in times of that require such needs (American Cancer Society, 2016).
Factors Contributing to Cancer Incidence and Mortality and Policy
Various factors contribute to the yearly incidence and mortality due to cancer in the USA. Such factors include cigarette-smoking, alcohol, occupational-related carcinogens, exposure to ultra-violet rays and sedentary lifestyle. All these are modifiable in that they are preventable. Other factors that are not modifiable include age, gender and race (Siegel, Miller, &Jemal, 2015). With such factors, it is beyond doubt that incidence of cancer and its mortality will remain high in the USA.
That said, identification of policies that will reduce the cancer incidence and mortality is paramount in the elimination of this challenge. Policies that relate to banning of cigarette smoking in public places and raising the alcohol drinking age are just but a few legislations that can eliminate this problem (Bray, et al., 2015).
Research Program
One of the currently funded research programs of ACS is the one that relates to lung cancer treatment. In this research, the focus is on the development of a pharmacotherapy product that will eliminate the challenge posed by KRAS, a mutant gene that makes lung cancer treatment difficult (American Cancer Society, 2016). A possible benefit to the management of lung cancer is that recurrence of this type of cancer will become non-existent. Consequently, this will prevent further progression of this condition to severity.
References
American Cancer Society,.(2016). Find Support Programs and Services | American Cancer Society.Cancer.org. Retrieved 12 December 2016, from http://www.cancer.org/treatment/supportprogramsservices/index
Bray, F., Jemal, A., Torre, L. A., Forman, D., &Vineis, P. (2015). Long-term realism and cost-effectiveness: Primary prevention in combatting cancer and associated inequalities worldwide. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 107(12), djv273.
Siegel, R. L., Miller, K. D., &Jemal, A. (2015).Cancer statistics, 2015. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 65(1), 5-29.
