It was founded in September 2001 to directly lobby the goals of the American Cancer Society, which is subject to restrictions on advocacy activities because of its tax classification.

Recently, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, supported by the American Cancer Society and ACS CAN, was signed into law by President Barack Obama and has multiple provisions which will gradually take effect over several years.

Further, the law prohibits companies from denying coverage to children with pre-existing conditions, eliminates lifetime benefit limits and annual benefit limits that can cause sudden termination of health care coverage, and allows children to stay on their parent’s health plan until the age of 26.

[6] ACS CAN supports efforts to grant the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over tobacco products.

Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, Ohio, and the District of Columbia did not allocate any funding for tobacco prevention programs this year.

[10] ACS CAN actively seeks additional funds for the NBCCEDP, which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings for low-income women throughout the United States.

In 2009, 14 states cut budgets for free cancer screenings: Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, South Carolina, Utah, Missouri, Washington, Ohio, Massachusetts, Arkansas, Montana, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Alabama.

Several states have participated in this event including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

[18] The goal is to plant Pink Impression bulbs throughout the states to honor the men and women who will be diagnosed with cancer this year.

In 2006 ACS CAN successfully met with the office of every member of the United States Congress, an unprecedented achievement for a nonprofit health organization.

ACS CAN produced the ad to push to Congress to make cancer a national priority when addressing the country’s budget deficit.

ACS CAN’s national TV ad was aired on major cable networks such as CNN, Fox News Channel, and MSNBC in November and December as Congress and the Super Committee met to address ways to reduce federal spending.