Download Promote Cancer Research at Relay

Research Promotion
at Events
Before the Event
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Show the Midwest Division Research DVD (MW110) during a team captain
meeting, if time is available, or at a committee meeting. The DVD gives an
overview of the American Cancer Society’s research program and highlights the
story of a MWD staff member whose daughter benefited from research that was
supported by the American Cancer Society.
Utilize the icebreaker on research during the kickoff or at a team captain meeting
Offer informational research flyers (see attached info.) to team members,
participants, etc.
Work with staff partner to include research messages in team newsletters.
Find people that have benefited from the Society’s research to speak to the
participants.
During the Event
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Include a clue in a scavenger hunt about research: “Find the exact number of
pennies to match the current number of Nobel Prize winners (44), whose early
research was funded by the American Cancer Society.”
Utilize the research word-search game and award points/prize for the first team to
return a completed game.
Display mission-focused track signs at the event.
Utilize research facts and one-liners during public address announcements.
After the Event
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Send thank you notes to team captains/event sponsors that includes a research
fact.
MISSION ICEBREAKER
Research
Share at your team captain meeting or kickoff as an icebreaker.
To be done by mission chair or staff if no local mission chair exists.
Please follow the steps provided below to share this mission moment.
Step 1:
Have everyone stand while you READ this DIRECTLY:
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Please sit down if you know…
A child that has been cured of leukemia?
A man whose prostate cancer was detected with the PSA test?
A woman who had a “lumpectomy” or was treated with Tamoxifen for breast cancer?
A woman who has regular Pap tests and mammograms?
Someone who has taken Gleevec for chronic myeloid leukemia?
Anyone who’s quit smoking?
Then you know someone who has benefited from research supported
by the American Cancer Society®. Since 1946, when the Society
began its research program, we have been involved in almost every
major milestone made towards ending the disease. Nearly every day
some new breakthrough brings us one step closer to answering those
tough questions and finding cures for the hundreds of different types
of cancers in the world.
Step 2:
(same individual) READ DIRECTLY:
I also have a story I’d like to share with you. (Choose one of the following stories to
read.)
In the 1950s, George Papanicolaou (Pä’pƏ-nē’kƏ-lou’), M.D., Ph.D., pioneered a
test to detect cervical cancer – once a top killer of women. Dr. Papanicolaou was
discouraged by his peers’ skepticism, but Charles Cameron, first director of the Society’s
research program, immediately saw the Pap test as a potential lifesaver for millions of
women. He secured an astonishing 25 percent of the Society’s budget to train Pap test
technicians and publicly urged women to be tested. Today, 90 percent of American
women follow the Society’s cervical screening guidelines and cervical cancer mortality
rates have dropped by nearly 70 percent.
OR
In the 1970s, the Society’s bold vision paid off when it defended its Breast Cancer
Demonstration Project. This American Cancer Society study involved more than 280,000
women and proved that mammography is both accurate and safe. Once proven, the
Society worked diligently to ensure it was available to all women by advocating the
passage of the Breast and Cervical Cancer Treatment Act, which provides free or lowcost screening to uninsured and underserved women. Now considered the gold standard
of breast cancer detection, mammography is used to diagnose tens of thousands of breast
cancers each year at the earliest, most treatable stages, which has led to decreased
mortality rates every year since 1990.
Step 3:
READ DIRECTLY:
Research like this is possible due to the money we raise through Relay For Life or
Run/Walk. To date, we have invested approximately $3.4 billion in cancer research. The
number of cancer survivors has, in part, tripled as a result and we invest research dollars
in all various types of cancer. Researchers funded by the American Cancer Society have
discovered many cancer-breakthroughs, things like the PSA (prostate specific antigen)
test to screen for prostate cancer, mammography screening, the Pap test and many
cancer-fighting drugs. If you’d like more information about our research program you
can call our 800 number (1-800-ACS-2345) or visit our Web site at www.cancer.org.
Thank you.
Research Fact Sheet
The American Cancer Society dedicates more money to cancer research than any other
private, nonprofit organization in the United States. The Society invests more than $100 million
each year on cancer research. The American Cancer Society dedicates research funding to
beginning researchers and innovative research opportunities to continually search for new
discoveries. Investigators in medical schools, universities, research institutes, and hospitals
throughout the country receive grants from the Society. The research program consists of three
components: extramural grants, intramural epidemiology and surveillance research, and the
intramural behavioral research center.
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Currently the Midwest Division has 33 grants totaling $16,737,000 million at institutions
across the states of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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Since the Society’s research program began in 1946, more than $3.4 billion has been
spent on cancer research.
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Annually, the Society spends more than $130 million on cancer research. The
organization continues to fund the most promising areas of cancer research.
Uniqueness of the Society’s Research Program:
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The Society concentrates on beginning researchers and novel research opportunities.
In 2008, approximately 84 percent of current ACS grants in effects were for beginning
investigators.
Society research targets areas of special need, such as cancer in the poor and underserved.
Society grantees are selected by stringent peer-review panels of outside volunteer experts.
Society Peer Review Committees include “stakeholders,” individuals with a personal
interest in cancer.
44 Society-funded researchers have gone on to win the Nobel Prize, the highest accolade
of scientific achievement.
The Society has been involved in many major cancer research breakthroughs:
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Increased cure rate for childhood leukemia with combination chemotherapy.
Development of the Pap smear to detect cervical cancer.
Mammography is shown to be the best tool for early detection of breast cancer.
Lumpectomy plus radiation is found to be equivalent to mastectomy for breast cancer
survival.
Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer screening is developed.
Discovery of 5-FU (chemotherapy) for colon cancer.
Smoking is identified as a cause of lung cancer.
Discovery of cancer-causing oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes.
Discovery of genes for inherited breast and colon cancer.
Tamoxifen is found to reduce breast cancer in high-risk women.
Monoclonal antibodies were developed to treat breast cancer (Herceptin) and lymphoma
(Rituxan).
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Discovery of small molecule inhibitors such as Gleevec for treatment of chronic myeloid
leukemia.
Published a landmark study linking obesity to increased cancer risk.
Gardisil is approved by FDA as vaccine to prevent HPV-caused cervical cancer.
Contemporary cancer research is poised to make great advances in the coming decade
in the areas of:
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Targeted drugs designed to attack cancer cells while leaving healthy cells
relatively unharmed
Immunotherapy – using certain parts of the immune system to fight cancer
Chemoprevention – selective drugs used to prevent cancer.
Gene therapy- inserting genetic material (DNA or RNA) into cells to restore a
missing function or to give the cells a new function.
Gene-environment interactions.
*Cancer research, no matter where it is carried out, benefits us all, wherever we live.
For more information about cancer, the American Cancer Society, or its research
program, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
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.
American Cancer Society Research Fact Sheet
(bulleted version)
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To date, the American Cancer Society has funded more than $3.4 billion in
cancer research since 1946.
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The American Cancer Society dedicates more money to cancer research than
any other private, not-for-profit, non-government source in the United States.
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The American Cancer Society funds approximately $130 million each year in
cancer research.
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Currently the American Cancer Society funds (insert number) grants in (insert
state.).
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The American Cancer Society funded 44 Nobel Prize winners early in their
careers.
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Researchers supported by the American Cancer Society have contributed to
major advances in cancer research. Among the most significant
accomplishments are:
o use of chemotherapy to treat cancer
o use of bone marrow transplant to treat cancer
o increased cure for childhood leukemia when treated with combination
chemotherapy
o Pap smear to detect cervical cancer
o demonstration that mammography is best tool to screen for breast cancer
o use of Tamoxifen to reduce risk of breast cancer recurrence
o discovery of genes for inherited breast and colon cancer
o discovery that lumpectomy plus radiation is equivalent to mastecomy for
breast cancer survival
o identification of smoking as a cause of lung cancer
o vaccine to prevent cervical cancer
o and many, many more
Quick Facts or Brief Announcements
About the American Cancer Society
Research Program
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The American Cancer Society dedicates more money to cancer research than any
other private, not-for-profit, non-governmental organization in the United States.
Each year the American Cancer Society spends approximately $130 million on cancer
research. For more information on cancer call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit
www.cancer.org.
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Defeating cancer means first solving its mysteries to find a cure. Research is key.
Scientists supported by grants from the American Cancer Society are continuing to
develop treatments that can increase the number of lives saved. For more information
about the American Cancer Society’s research program call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit
www.cancer.org.
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Since the Society’s research program began in 1946, they have invested more than
$3.4 billion in cancer research thanks to support from donors. The Society’s research
program fills a need, responds to the public, and reacts quickly to new challenges.
Forty-four Nobel Prize winners received grant support from the Society early in their
careers.
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What makes the American Cancer Society research program unique is its support of
beginning investigators, its balanced portfolio of large grants, its highly respected
peer-review process for selecting grant recipients, and its targeted cancer research in
the poor and underserved. For more information about the Society’s research program
visit www.cancer.org or call 1-800-ACS-2345.
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The Society’s research program has helped lower cancer incidence and death rates
each year, playing a role in almost every major cancer research breakthrough.
Researchers supported by Society grants have achieved numerous citations in drug
patents, such as the drugs Gleevec and Tamoxifen.
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For more than 50 years, the Society’s intramural epidemiology research program has
evaluated trends in cancer incidence, mortality, and survival.
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Current information is available in several formats, including Cancer Facts &
Figures, Breast Cancer Facts & Figures, and separate versions of Cancer Facts &
Figures for African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos.
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Cancer Prevention & Early Detection Facts & Figures presents trends in cancer risk
factors such as tobacco use, obesity, physical inactivity, and nutritional factors for
adults and children. These documents, as well as cancer statistics, are available on
www.cancer.org.
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The American Cancer Society’s Behavioral Research Center was established in 1995
to conduct original behavioral and psychosocial cancer research, provide consultation
to other parts of the Society, and facilitate the transfer of behavioral and psychosocial
research and theory to improve cancer control policies.
Newsletter or newspaper article
Making a Difference: American Cancer Society-Funded
Research
Did you know that the American Cancer Society dedicates more money to research than
any other nonprofit, non-government source of cancer research funds in the United
States? It’s true. In fact, the American Cancer Society has given more than $3.4 billion
dollars to support cancer research since 1946.
Currently in (insert state name), the American Cancer Society devotes more than
(***insert amount) to cancer research.
This year in (insert state name), it is estimated that (***insert state 2009 incidence
estimates) people will learn they have cancer and (***insert state 2009 mortality
estimates) people will die from the disease. With the cutting-edge research funded by the
American Cancer Society, these numbers will be reduced in the future and those
diagnosed with cancer will have improved quality of life.
The American Cancer Society funds researchers on the frontlines in the fight against
cancer and to date has funded 44 scientists who have gone on to win the Nobel Prize. The
organization has been involved with many of the cancer research breakthroughs of the
century including mammography, the Pap test, a cure for childhood leukemia, and
Tamoxifen.
The American Cancer Society’s research program is made possible in part by support
from donations to Relay For Life/Run/Walk/Daffodil Days (pick one) of (insert
community name.)
For more information, call 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
*** Contact staff partner/eSource staff for current statistics
Newsletter Material
American Cancer Society– Research Highlights
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American Cancer Society funded research has lead to a dramatic increase in the
survival of childhood cancers as well as cutting edge therapies.
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The five-year survival rate for ALL cancers diagnosed between1996-2004 is 66
percent, up from 50 percent in 1975-1977, due in part to progress in early
detection and improved or new treatments.
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The vast array of research includes: prevention, detection, treatment,
psychosocial, behavioral, policy and health services, childhood cancer, cancer in
the poor and underserved, epidemiology, environmental carcinogenesis, causes
and training professionals in oncology.
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The Society takes pride in knowing they have funded more than 30,000 grants to
over 20,000 scientists at more than 900 academic institutions with phenomenal
results.
American Cancer Society
Saves Lives through Cancer Research
Do you know a child who survived leukemia? Do you have a mother, sister, or
aunt whose breast cancer was found early thanks to a mammogram? Do you have a friend
or coworker who quit smoking to decrease their risk of lung cancer? Each of these
individuals benefited from the American Cancer Society’s research program.
Each day scientists supported by the American Cancer Society work to find
breakthroughs that will take us one step closer to a cure. The American Cancer Society
has long recognized that research holds the ultimate answers to the prevention, diagnosis,
and treatment of cancer.
As the largest source of nonprofit cancer research funds in the United States, the
American Cancer Society devotes more than $100 million each year to research. Since
1946, they’ve invested approximately $3.4 billion in research. The investment has paid
rich dividends: the five-year survival rate has almost tripled since 1946, and diagnosis
and mortality rates have declined each year since 1990.
Investigators and health professionals in universities, research institutes, and
hospitals throughout the country receive grants from the American Cancer Society. Of
the more than 1,744 applications received in 2007-2008, only 77 % percent of the
approved grants were funded. If the American Cancer Society had more money available
for research funding, many more applications considered outstanding could be funded.
You can help fund more of these applications by participating in the American
Cancer Society Relay For Life, a team event to fight cancer OR Run/Walk, an event to
fight cancer. More funding means more cancer breakthroughs and more lives being
saved. For more information on cancer, call the American Cancer Society’s 24-hour help
line at 1-800-ACS-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
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.
Newsletter article
Kids with Cancer: The Search for a Cure
From the American Cancer Society
2008 American Cancer Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
Nothing is more heartbreaking than a child suffering – especially with a life-threatening
illness like cancer. And although cancer in children is relatively rare, it is estimated that
10,730 children under the age of 14 will be diagnosed this year.
But there is good news. Because of research discoveries funded in part by the American
Cancer Society, childhood leukemia is now a treatable disease – with five-year survival
rates now 81%. Today, the American Cancer Society continues to search for answers that
could save children’s lives from this and other cancers.
Thanks to continuous support from communities like ours, the Society has 30 grants in
effect, totaling $14.3 million for childhood cancer research (as of January 2009). A cure
for cancers afflicting children is within our reach. Make a difference in young lives by
contributing to the ongoing progress. Call 1-800-227-2345 or visit www.cancer.org.
And if you or someone you know has cancer, the American Cancer Society can help. Call
for more information about our local programs and services for cancer patients and their
families.
American Cancer Society Research Program
Word Find Game
G L E E V E C E Y S D H L Y B
Q O O D W O G C P M M W R U O
S M A R G O M M A M L R M S N
Y S P R E S E A R C H E R S E
B G M P E E R R E V I
E W H M
P E X O L Z A S H P D E N E A
B N H D K E V P T L W Z E R R
I
E O A M I
A W O C Z I
F C R
X S G S V Y N H M C Q R I
S Z P I
L A J
I
I
E O
E G E V A P X P W
F N K O R H O Y L O T D
P F U O A N I
R C R Q E M I
A S P T H Q I
I
V
A D S B A N Q
U N S G G N U N F L B O T F X
S H A K S E N E G O C N O T S
This word find game contains 18 terms related to the American Cancer Society’s research
program. Many are notable accomplishments of researchers supported by the American
Cancer Society. How many can you find?
BEGINNING
CHEMOTHERAPY
HERCEPTIN
ONCOGENES
PEER REVIEW
SMOKING
BEHAVIORAL
GENE
MAMMOGRAMS
PAP SMEAR
PSA
STAKEHOLDERS
BONE MARROW
GLEEVEC
NOBEL PRIZE
PAY IF
RESEARCHERS
TAMOXIFEN