The American Cancer Society, the nation's leading voluntary health agency, today announced a new tool in the war against cancer: your voice

American Cancer Society
Thursday, 30 September 1999

The American Cancer Society, the nation's leading voluntary health agency, today announced a new tool in the war against cancer: your voice. Using a new interactive section of its www.cancer.org Website called Take Action, Americans can contact federal lawmakers and urge them to support the Society's efforts to fight the disease our country fears most-cancer.

"We want to make it as easy as we can for people to help us win the cancer war. Take Action does exactly that," said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of the American Cancer Society. "With nearly 40 percent of Americans expected to face cancer at some point in their lifetimes, we must use every weapon in our arsenal to diminish this threat. Regularly calling on members of Congress to support beneficial legislation and public policy efforts can certainly help us defeat and prevent this scourge."

Take Action users will be able to keep fully informed of what's happening in the legislative fight against cancer. The site tells visitors how to catch the attention of policy makers deciding the fate of programs that detect and prevent cancer. A guide to members of Congress is also available. Take Action features American Cancer Society information and promotional announcements. Take Action also gives users the option to join the ACS Action Network, the Society's corps of grassroots volunteers. Most importantly, the new Website section makes it possible for any U.S. citizen to speak directly to his or her congressional delegates and tell them to support or defeat specific legislative proposals.

In order to connect to federal lawmakers, users need only to log onto the Internet, go to www.cancer.org and click the Take Action button.

"Take Action is an extremely powerful tool in helping us advocate on behalf of everyone affected by cancer," Seffrin added. "With the addition of Take Action to our Website, we can further fulfill our mission and speed the flow of information to policymakers, letting them know that people care a great deal about how cancer-related issues are handled by our nation's elected leadership."

The American Cancer Society's Website is the premiere cancer information location on the Internet, providing both information and services to nearly more than a quarter-million visitors each month.

The American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives and diminishing suffering from cancer, through research, education, advocacy and service.

For more information, or to contact American Cancer Society, see their website at: www.cancer.org