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Global HPV Cancer Free program reaches milestone

​More than 10,000 physicians in India were trained in one year.

The American Cancer Society’s Global HPV Cancer Free program celebrated a milestone in India. The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India (FOGSI), Cancer Foundation of India, and ACS reached a shared target of training 10,000 physicians on cervical burden in India, HPV facts, and communications strategies for effectively recommending the vaccine to parents and answering their questions.  

Trainers and the leadership of FOGSI recently met to enthusiastically celebrate this achievement. The goal was achieved in 12 months with the support of ACS. 

  • 14 Core Trainers trained by ACS’s Global HPV Cancer Free program through a virtual training that leveraged HPV Roundtable leaders as expert faculty.
  • 102 Master Trainers (pictured above receiving their recognition) were trained by the 14 Core Trainers. 
  • 292 training sessions were conducted (184 virtual and 108 in-person) by 102 Master Trainers. 
  • 10,253 member physicians trained as a result.

The effort was supported by strategic thinking, resources, coordination and technical assistance from the Global Cancer Support team including Sara Comstock, program manager, global HPV cancer prevention, Nina Batista, senior program manager, global cancer prevention, Meenu Anand, director, global cancer prevention, and from the Implementation Science team including Ashleigh Hayward, data and evaluation manager, cancer prevention, Jennifer Nkonga, senior director, regional strategy and implementation, Michelle Burcin, senior director, data and evaluation. 

This effort is funded in part in part by Cancer Research UK and has a second component that is in-progress at the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP). Conversations are underway to explore other opportunities in Asia. 



  • HPV Roundtable Emerging Leaders program applications are open

    ​Build your leadership portfolio with the National HPV Vaccination Roundtable.  

    The American Cancer Society National HPV Vaccination Roundtable has launched its 2025 Emerging Leaders Program search with newly opened candidate program applications. As this year will be only the second ever cohort of emerging leaders for ACS HPV Vaccination Roundtable, the program is eager to invite another group of early career professionals who are interested in enhancing their leadership skills within HPV vaccination efforts. 

    As an opportunity to enlarge your network nationally, engage in new learning possibilities, and shape the future of HPV vaccination best practices and outreach, program participants can expect to connect with national HPV vaccination and public health leaders and enhance their skills, tools, and habits to amplify leadership qualities through the one-year program.   

    To further capitalize on learning opportunities, program participants will be offered paid travel to the 2025 ACS HPV Roundtable National Meeting. Fellows represent a diverse group of partners both internal and external to ACS. Employees who engage in HPV vaccination and cancer prevention efforts substantially in their role are encouraged to apply. Applicants should be within a 5- to 10-year period after completion of their last degree or 5 to 10 years since transitioning to the immunization and cancer prevention field.

    Applications must be submitted by July 31. Click here to apply. Learn more by checking out the flyer attached below, visiting the website, and watching the 2023 Emerging Leaders Showcase Webinar recording. Any questions may be directed to hpv.vaccination.roundtable@cancer.org. 


  • New course available for health and fitness professionals

    ​Partners can receive a discount in July for the ACSM-ACS Cancer Exercise Specialist Course.

    ACS has partnered with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to develop the ACSM-ACS Cancer Exercise Specialist Course. The course is designed for health care and fitness practitioners looking to provide safe, effective, and individualized exercise programs to anyone living with or beyond a cancer diagnosis. A discount code (ACSPARTNER) is available for the month of July for 20 percent off the price of the course. 

    Research consistently shows that physical activity has benefits for cancer survivors, including during active treatment. The American Cancer Society Nutrition and Physical Activity Guidelines for Cancer Survivors recommend that physical activity assessment and counseling begin as soon as possible after diagnosis, with the goal of helping patients prepare for treatments, tolerate and respond to treatments, and manage some cancer-related symptoms and treatment-related side effects.

    The new ACSM-ACS Cancer Exercise Specialist Course is designed to increase the number of practitioners able to provide advice and deliver safe, effective, and individualized exercise and physical activity programs based on the most current evidence.

    During July, ACS partners (volunteers, health systems, community organizations, etc.) can get 20 percent off the price of the course using the code ACSPARTNER. See the promotional flyer on Brand toolkit for more information and a link to register for the course. 

    The program is appropriate for:

    • Certified fitness professionals, especially those holding ACSM Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-EP®) and Clinical Exercise Physiologist (ACSM-CEP®) certifications.
    • Health professionals, including physical therapists and PT assistants, rehabilitation therapists, nurses and nurse practitioners, physicians and physician assistants who specialize in working with people with cancer.


  • Hope Lodge unveils an electrifying gift in guest transportation

    ​Chevrolet named Official Vehicle and EV Partner of Hope Lodge.

    The American Cancer Society is excited to announce Chevrolet as the Official Vehicle Partner and Official Electric Vehicle (EV) of Hope Lodge. Chevrolet is generously providing 11 Chevy Bolt EUVs to 10 Hope Lodge communities nationwide, enhancing transportation for our guests in:

    • AstraZeneca Hope Lodge Boston, Boston, MA
    • Chad Richison Hope Lodge, Oklahoma City, OK, pictured at right
    • McConnell-Raab Hope Lodge, Greenville, NC
    • Joe Lee Griffin Hope Lodge, Birmingham, AL
    • Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation Hope Lodge, Houston, TX
    • American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, Lexington, KY
    • Patrick F. Taylor Hope Lodge, New Orleans, LA
    • Gertrude C. Ford Hope Lodge, Jackson, MS
    • American Cancer Society Hope Lodge, Omaha, NE
    • Russell and Ann Gerdin Hope Lodge, Iowa City, IA

    Chevrolet extends its support for the ACS mission through the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer movement and Chevy Cares by bringing EV transportation to more Hope Lodge communities.

    “2024 marks our 14th year partnering with the American Cancer Society,” said Steve Majoros, chief marketing officer, Chevrolet. “Providing reliable transportation for patients and families during treatment is a crucial benefit that Chevrolet is proud to offer. This collaboration deepens our commitment to fighting breast cancer and all cancers.”

    To host EV transportation, many Hope Lodge communities required EV chargers. Chevrolet, alongside Hope Lodge operations and local Hope Lodge managers and teams, collaborated with EV charging installation partner Qmerit and local professionals from Schneider Electric. This combined effort, valued at more than $500,000 in in-kind donations and full-service delivery and installation services, has equipped our communities with the necessary EV technology to bring EV transportation to Hope Lodge guests.

    Join us in celebrating this electrifying new chapter with Chevy Cares and Hope Lodge!



  • ACS awards Transportation and Lodging Grants

    ​Cancer care delays can increase emergency room rates and mortality risk.

    Cancer care often means frequent medical appointments and travel far from home to get the best treatment. To alleviate the financial burden of cancer treatment, the American Cancer Society has awarded $9.2 million in transportation and lodging grants. These funds will provide 830,000 transportation and lodging services for 81,500 eligible patients offered through 500 health system partners. The Patient Transportation and Lodging Grant program provides a chance for health systems to build a portfolio of services that meet their community's needs and deliver services to patients who need it most.

    “Transportation obstacles or the cost of a hotel room should not be barriers that determine the survival of those needing cancer treatment,” said Dr. Arif Kamal, chief patient officer. “Providing funding to health systems and organizations across the country to deliver the direct assistance needed helps to fill these equity gaps and improves cancer outcomes.”

    When the most effective treatment requires traveling away from home, patients facing a lack of reliable and affordable transportation and lodging can experience missed appointments, treatment interruptions, and incomplete follow-up care. In a 2023 Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) study, ACS researchers found that delayed care due to lack of transportation is associated with increased emergency room use and mortality risk among adults with and without cancer history.

    The program’s grant cycle is 12 months long and runs from April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025.​



  • Addressing Barriers to Care Grants presented to community organizations

    ​Social drivers of health can significantly impact patients.

    The American Cancer Society’s Addressing Barriers to Care (ABC) grant program recently awarded a total of $500,000 to fund 15 community organizations providing services that address food security and nutrition, physical activity opportunities, social isolation, financial stability, job security, education, housing security, and responsibility for dependents. 

    The grantees will help comprehensively address social drivers of health barriers which include non-medical factors that impact the ability to prevent, find, treat, and survive cancer. According to a January 2024 ACS CAN Survivor Views Survey, 40% of cancer patients and survivors experience some degree of food or nutrition insecurity, and according to American Cancer Society researchers, more than one in five patients with cancer in the United States struggles to meet at least one basic need. These material hardships are associated with delays in treatment, greater distress, financial toxicity, and a higher risk of relapse and death.

    ACS launched the Addressing Barriers to Care grant program earlier in 2024, our pilot year, to complement its existing programs and grants focused on removing treatment barriers connected to transportation and lodging.

    The 2024 Addressing Barriers to Care grantees include:

    • Advocates for Community Wellness  – Chicago, IL
    • Alliance Community Services – Murray, UT
    • Cancer Kinship – Newport Beach, CA
    • Cancer Legal Care – Oakdale, MN
    • Cheeky Charity Inc. – Mount Kisco, NY
    • Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment, Inc.  – Gallup, NM
    • FeedMore Western New York Inc – Buffalo, NY
    • Hope Cancer Resources – Springdale, AR
    • Institute for Research and Education in Family Medicine  – St. Louis, MO   
    • Miles Perret Cancer Services – Lafayette, LA
    • Feeding Southwest Virginia – Salem, VA
    • S.L.E.W. Inc./SLEW Cancer Wellness Center (Support Lending for Emotional Well-being) – San Antonio, TX
    • The Resurrection Project – Chicago, IL
    • Us vs. Cancer – Makawao, HI
    • Vital Access Care Foundation - Vietnamese American Cancer Foundation – Fountain Valley, CA

    Grant Program Cycle

    The program’s grant cycle is 12 months long and runs from April 1, 2024 - March 31, 2025. ABC grantees are serving patients and caregivers from many populations, including members of the Navajo Nation as well as members from the LGBTQ, Vietnamese, African American, and Hispanic/Latinx communities. Overall, more than half of grantees will serve cancer patients who are living in poverty, minorities, unhoused, un/under-insured, and those in crisis.



  • Work with Genentech continues

    ​During 2024 patient navigation programs to be piloted in Georgia, Ohio, and Oregon.

    The American Cancer Society marks another year of success and progress tackling health disparities alongside Genentech. This important work continues in 2024 with a focus on piloting patient navigation programs in three key regions: Georgia, Ohio, and Oregon. These programs aim to accelerate community-based interventions that directly improve health equity and cancer outcomes.

    Last year ACS received $4 million from Genentech to drive greater health equity and outcomes for all people with cancer with a goal of:

    • Increasing access to innovative, high-quality cancer care and improving health equity for marginalized populations
    • Expanding programmatic reach of patient navigation programs and seeking policy changes to enhance patient services to support the needs of every patient and family
    • Addressing health-related psychosocial needs for every patient and their families
    • Increasing access to, and utilization of biomarker testing and emerging therapies
    • Increasing discoveries and diverse representation in clinical trials

    For nearly 40 years, ACS and Genentech have collaborated in several efforts to advance cancer care for all patients. Genentech served as the founding sponsor of ACS’s Get Screened initiative, meant to rapidly restore and improve screening rates with a focus on communities that faced historical inequities and had the greatest impact from the pandemic.

    Visit cancer.org/Genentech for more information.



  • ACS NCCRT releases brief to promote screening in LGBTQ+ communities

    ​Roundtable describes barriers and outlines action steps to help reduce disparities.

    One in six lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, or other diverse sexual orientations or gender identities (LGBTQ+) adults avoid health care due to previous discrimination. At the same time, only 59% of age-eligible people are up to date with recommended colorectal cancer (CRC) screening.

    On May 21, the ACS NCCRT released a newly updated brief, Increasing Colorectal Cancer Screening Among LGBTQ+ Communities, that describes this community’s unique barriers to CRC screening and outlines action steps to support CRC screening in LGBTQ+ communities. The brief is intended for community-based organizations, health systems, and other organizations to use to better understand and serve LGBTQ+ members of their community.

    “People who identify as LGBTQ+ face barriers that make them less likely to get screened for colorectal cancer than the general population,” said Emily Bell, Director, NCCRT. “This brief aims to reduce cancer disparities in LGBTQ+ communities by providing clinicians and community-based partners with the tools they need to promote CRC screening at age 45 or earlier if needed.”

    ACS team members and volunteers are encouraged to review the brief and share with their partners, especially as we head into Pride Month this June! Share the brief from the ACS NCCRT website.

    Like and share the news on X.


  • FDA approves HPV self-collection for cervical cancer screening

    ​ACS applauds decision, which will expand access.

    The US Food and Drug Administration on May 15 approved primary human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection for cervical cancer screening in a health care setting. The American Cancer Society applauds this decision, as it will expand access to cervical cancer screening, providing a more convenient and private option for all women and people with a cervix. 

    Self-collection is when a patient uses a collection kit to take a vaginal sample that will be tested for HPV, the virus that causes almost all cases of cervical cancer. There are many advantages of self-collection compared to provider-collected screening samples. This news covers self-collection in the presence of a provider, not at-home collection. A subsequent approval phase may include at-home self-collection. 

    ACS experts anticipate self-collection at a health care setting will play an increasingly prominent role in cervical cancer screening once regulatory and clinical prerequisites are in place and as supporting evidence continues to accumulate.

    Cervical cancer is one of the few cancers that can prevented through regular screening.

    “Despite the benefits of cervical cancer screening, not all women and people with a cervix get screened regularly,” ACS Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Bill Dahut said in a news release. “Most cervical cancers are found in people who have never had a cervical cancer screening test or who have not had one recently. That’s why adding self-collection as a screening method for this potentially deadly disease can make a huge impact.”
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