​Three-year initiative to focus on breast and prostate cancer.
On Feb. 5, the American Cancer Society and Pfizer announced the launch of “Change the Odds: Uniting to Improve Cancer Outcomes,” a three-year initiative to bridge the gap in cancer care disparities. Through $15 million in funding from Pfizer, the initiative aims to improve health outcomes in medically underrepresented communities across the United States by enhancing awareness of and access to cancer screenings, clinical trial opportunities, and patient support and comprehensive navigation. “Change the Odds” will initially focus on breast and prostate cancer in medically underserved communities, with the potential to expand to additional cancer types. ACS plans to engage additional partners to extend the reach of the programmatic activities to more individuals and deepen the tangible impact in select communities.

Learn more from CEO, Dr. Karen Knudsen and Chris Boshoff, chief oncology officer and executive vice president at Pfizer, as they share their perspectives on the importance of the new initiative in this Executive Q&A article. 

ACS will leverage its broad network and engage on-the-ground partners to connect individuals and promote awareness of no- and low-cost screening and access to programs and services through culturally sensitive outreach in communities disproportionately impacted by breast and prostate cancer.

Through ACS’ extensive evidence-based patient navigation programs, patients will be guided through the complexities of their cancer journey and given information to help them understand and access recommended screening, treatments, community resources, and emotional support. ACS will also work to empower patients and healthcare providers in several medically underrepresented communities with information about clinical trials and address potential barriers to trial participation. Additionally, ACS will work alongside its vast network of Health Equity Ambassadors to deliver trusted cancer prevention and early detection resources and information into each community..

For more information about “Change the Odds” please visit cancer.org.