While students are getting involved more than ever in this year's Relay for Life, the American Cancer Society (ACS) is offering students a longtime commitment that could further their benefits to cancer research and more in a new, completely different way. The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), a nonprofit advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, "supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem," reports the ACS CAN website.
By the end of the Relay Rally on March 21, Longwood became the first ACS CAN college in Virginia, having been able to accumulate 20 people to become members of the ACS CAN. The ACS CAN supports lobbying and public policy efforts, federal funding for cancer research, education on cancer issues for the public, the media and candidates and more campaign opportunities the ACS does not provide. Identified as a nationwide grassroots movement, the ACS CAN is working to transition advocates' focus "to make cancer a top national priority," as detailed on the Relay for Life website. Chair of Longwood's Relay for Life Committee Emily Bacalis said, "Basically, the American Cancer Society can only fund possible treatments and care like the researchers to a certain extent.
That's kind of in the federal government's hands, and with the way the federal government is going currently they don't have a lot of money to continue research on these possible treatments and cares." According to the ACS CAN website, "Congress has frozen or cut funding for cancer research and programs for the past five years." Bacalis hopes to change this by informing Longwood students of the additional efforts they can make to contribute to cancer research besides Relay for Life.
With only a $10 yearly commitment fee, students may become a member of the ACS CAN by going online, printing out the form and then dropping it in the Relay for Life P.O. box 2907 to be submitted. Additionally, each member of ACS CAN is able to fully understand what his or her donations contribute to by monthly emailed newsletters and action alerts.
"I just wanted to see us taking another step besides just Relay for Life and recognizing survivors and caregivers, that we're doing something else for the future generations. We're taking another step to prevent more people from getting cancer or those who do get cancer, they'll have an easier way to earn treatments," said Bacalis. Bacalis noted a new medical achievement of chemotherapy, being chemotherapy in the form of a pill. She noted the benefits it has, especially for those cancer patients who live in rural areas, saying, "If you live in a rural area, it's hard to get the money to go to treatment because it's such a far distance away.
So, right now they're lobbying to get this pill made so they can ship it to the person's house, so they can take it there instead of having to drive and put that extra strain on themselves in transportation." "Instead of sitting there for a couple hours with an IV, instead of having to take off of work and drive an hour, two hours to treatment they can just take it right in their own homes," Bacalis added. Concerning Longwood's goal to reach $75,000, Bacalis expressed that she believes that Longwood will be able to achieve this year's goal, noting students raised about $68,000 last year.
By early April, Longwood students have already raised over $40,000 to Relay for Life. The final Relay Rally will be on Wednesday, April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Lankford Student Union Ballroom. The Relay for Life will occur only two days later on April 20 on Stubbs Lawn at 7 p.m. To obtain further information on Relay for Life or to sign up, go to www.relayforlife.org/ longwood or go to the Longwood Relay for Life Facebook page. If in need of help, the Relay for Life Committee at Longwood University is available to assist students. Additionally, the ACS CAN website provides information on campaigns and candidate positions on cancer-related concerns.
To find more information on or become a member of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, go online to www.acscan.org.