American Cancer Society Awards over $8.5 Million in Grants towards Research Aimed at Eliminating Cancer Disparities

(3BL Media) Atlanta, GA - April 19, 2012 - The American Cancer Society, the largest non-government, not-for-profit funding source of cancer research and training in the United States, has awarded twelve national research grants totaling more than $8.5 million to support research aimed at achieving health equity. These grants will support research around the impact of the health care system and patient navigators in reducing barriers to care; help educate Latina breast cancer survivors about post-treatment screening; assist in reducing disparities in liver cancer treatment; and support interventions to help low income smokers quit. The grants are among 135 research and training grants totaling about $52 million in the first of two grant cycles for 2012.

During the past ten years, the Society has dedicated a portion of its extramural research funding towards studies of cancer in poor and medically underserved populations. During that time, the program awarded 133 grants worth more than $113.5 million. Building on those ten years of targeted funding for research in poor and underserved populations, the Society’s Extramural Grants program recently began a program of priority funding for psychosocial, behavioral, health policy, and health services research that will result in reductions in cancer health disparities.

“In order to achieve health equity in the U.S., it is important that we explore ways to better understand how cancer affects different populations,” said Otis W. Brawley, MD, chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society. “We realize the critical need to support research geared towards closing the disparities gap, and good research can help us discover ways to do so effectively.”

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The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.5 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, about 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.