Cancer Observance Calendar

September

Childhood Cancer:
As the American Cancer Society’s Childhood Cancer initiative, “Gold Together” empowers individuals to help raise funds to directly support research, education, advocacy and services, as well as promote cancer prevention efforts that could reduce children’s risk for cancer later in life. For instance: HPV Vaccine. 

The Gold Together movement was created by childhood brain cancer survivor, Cole Eicher, whose dream was to have a Gold Together team at every Relay For Life event, starting with his event in St. Petersburg, Florida. His vision is to raise childhood cancer awareness, support families facing childhood cancer and connect those families to a lifetime of resources
through the American Cancer Society.
Did you Know?
 Cancer is the #1 disease related cause of death among children and adolescents ages 1 to 19.
 That about 1 in 266 children in the United States will be diagnosed with cancer before their 20th birthday.
 And on average, 200 children are diagnosed with cancer every week in the United States.
 As of January, 2023, the American Cancer Society is funding 44 multi-year research grants for a total of $26 million that are specific to Childhood Cancer.

Blood Cancer:
There are three main types of blood cancers:
Leukemia is a cancer found in your blood and bone marrow.
Lymphoma is a blood cancer that affects the immune system and the lymphatic system.
Myeloma is a blood cancer that specifically targets plasma cells (a white blood cell secreting antibodies).
Did you know?
 More than a third of people with blood cancer live fewer than 5 years after diagnosis.
 Every 3 minutes, someone in the United States learns they have a blood cancer.
 Each year, these types of cancer account for approximately 10% of all new cancer diagnoses.
 An estimated 184,720 new cases of leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma will be diagnosed in the U.S. in 2023, with 57,380 deaths expected to result from the diagnosis.
 Leukemias are the most common cancers in children and account for 28% of all childhood cancers.
 More than 1.5 million people in the U.S. are either living with or in remission today from a blood cancer.

Prostate Cancer:
Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the United States. However, when prostate cancer is detected early, the odds of survival are high. More than 3.5 million men diagnosed with the disease in the U.S. are still alive today.
Did you know?
 More than 288,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease this year, with close to 35,000 deaths.
 Black men are two times more likely to die from the disease than White men and have the highest death rate for prostate cancer of any racial and ethnic group.
 The risk of prostate cancer gets higher with age. People with a family history of prostate cancer (such as in their brother or
father) as well as a family history of breast cancer in a sister or mother, are at higher risk of prostate cancer.
While age, family history, and race/ancestry are not things you can change,there are other factors such as maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking, and being physically active that can help to offset this higher risk.
The American Cancer Society recommends that men at average risk for prostate cancer discuss the benefits and limitations of screening with their healthcare provider at age 50. Men at high risk (which includes Black men in general and any man with a first-degree relative who had prostate cancer before age 65) should have the conversation at age 45. Black men with a
family history of breast, ovarian, or prostate cancer, and men with more than one first-degree relative who had prostate cancer at an early age should discuss screening at age 40. Detecting prostate cancer early can lead to more effective treatment and
improved outcomes.

What is the American Cancer Society doing to combat prostate cancer:
To address the burden of prostate cancer for all men and the large racial disparities that exist, the ACS established the IMPACT initiative. This cross-institution initiative will address urgent unmet needs with the goals of significantly improving outcomes for all men including survivorship and survival; reducing disparities; improving diversity in prostate cancer clinical
trials; accelerating engagement and awareness and accelerating the implementation of known prevention strategies into at-risk communities.