NCCS Policy
As the nation's oldest survivor-led cancer advocacy organization, the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS) supports public policies and programs aimed at providing quality healthcare to all people with cancer. By persuading federal policymakers to adopt reforms that encourage the development, delivery, and financing of quality cancer care, NCCS seeks to improve the lives of everyone affected by cancer.
Nearly 12 million Americans are living with cancer, and more than 1.5 million are diagnosed with cancer each year. Improvements in cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment have contributed to a significant increase in the number of cancer survivors. For some, cancer has become a chronic disease that requires ongoing and possibly long-term management. For many more, cancer remains an acute disease requiring aggressive treatment over a shorter period of time, and immediate decisions about treatment may be necessary. For all cancer survivors, there may be significant physical side effects from cancer treatments, including long-term and late-term effects, which may show up years after treatment has been completed. In addition, cancer survivors and their families and friends may experience crippling emotional effects from cancer , and their relationships may be put under substantial stress. Finally, the threat of recurrence looms for many cancer survivors. All cancer survivors would benefit from information about treatment choices, assistance with evaluating treatment choices, and coordination of curative treatment and symptom management.
Read NCCS Policy Priorities for 2009-2010.
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