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The American Cancer Society

The American Cancer Society is a non-profit organization focusing on public awareness and treatment of cancer.

Originally called The American Society for the Control of Cancer (ASCC) in 1913, The American Cancer Society was founded by a group of 15 well-known doctors and business leaders in New York City.

The beginning of The American Cancer Society was a huge turning point in American History

At the time the Society beginning, cancer was claiming approximately 75,000 lives a year in the United States. The founders began the enormous task of writing articles to raise public awareness for magazines and professional journals. In addition to the articles, they published a monthly bulletin called Campaign Notes, and recruited doctors throughout the country to help teach the general public about cancer.

In 1935 there were approximately 15,000 people playing active roles in cancer control throughout the United States. In 1936, Marjorie G. Illig, An American Society for the Control of Cancer field representative and also chair of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Committee on Public Health, proposed the creation of a legion of new volunteers whose sole purpose was to wage the war on cancer. Eventually, this organization became The Women’s Field Army and they canvassed the streets to raise money and help educate the public. By the end of 1938, the number of people playing active roles in cancer control throughout the United States had jumped nearly 10 times the amount of people it had been in 1935. And as such, it was the Women’s Field Army which moved the Society to the forefront of the voluntary health organizations.

In 1945, the American Society for the Control of Cancer became the American Cancer Society and in 1946, Mary Lasker and her colleagues raised more than $4 million, $1 million of which was used to start the Society’s research program.

The logo of the American Cancer Society is the result of a poster content held in 1928 by the Society and the New York City Cancer Committee. George E. Durant of Brooklyn won the contest, taking his first prize of $500. Mr. Durant explained that he had chosen the sword to express the crusading spirit of the cancer control movement and that the twin serpent caduceus, used to form the handle of the sword, the emphasize the medical and scientific nature of the Society’s work.

The American Cancer Society’s website at http://www.cancer.org offers many resources for quitting smoking, including a Guide to Quitting Smoking, as well as many other smoking cessation resources (quiz, reasons to quit, help finding a quitline, statistics and more).

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