The American Cancer Society Services to Duluth

WHO IS THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY?
The American Cancer Society is the largest private, nonprofit source of cancer research funding, second only to the federal government in total dollars spent, and has funded 38 Nobel Prize laureates. The Mission of the American Cancer Society is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives, and diminishing suffering from cancer through research, education, advocacy, and service.

Here in Duluth,
· The American Cancer Society Patient Navigator is available in the Duluth office 8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Monday – Friday to provide information and referral, wigs & prosthesis, and to connect people with American Cancer Society services. Services are also available by calling 1-800-ACS-2345 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Information is available by logging onto http://www.cancer.org/. There is no cost for these services. During the last year, the ACS Patient Navigator arranged for 25 Duluth residents to have 43 pieces of durable medical equipment delivered to their home. If the patient was uninsured or if the service was not covered by the patient’s insurance, ACS paid for the equipment.

· Nine volunteers in the Duluth Road to Recovery Program provide cancer patients with rides to treatment at no cost.

· A dozen breast cancer survivors in the Duluth Reach to Recovery Program are available to act as role models and information resources to women diagnosed with breast cancer. In addition, ACS provides an information packet that hospital social workers distribute to breast cancer patients.

· A total of 50 women, most from Duluth, participated in Look Good . . . Feel Better, a free two-hour workshop offered by licensed cosmetologists. The workshop is offered once a month in Duluth (site alternates between St. Luke’s Cancer Center and the Duluth Clinic). Participants received a free gift of 20 – 25 name brand cosmetics.

· The ACS Advocacy Division works to protect citizens from second hand smoke, increase access to cancer screening and care for the uninsured and underinsured, and strengthen physical education requirements in schools.

· A Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative with representatives from ACS, the Duluth Clinic, St. Luke’s Hospital, Northland Gastroenterology, Arrowhead Parish Nurses, Northern Waters Parish Nurses, Douglas County Public Health and other organizations has been meeting since Fall 2003 to increase awareness of colorectal cancer screening in the community and among providers.

The American Cancer Society, YWCA, Minnesota Department of Health, Center for American Indian Resources, Arrowhead Parish Nurses and other community partners have been working to promote breast screening among underserved, often uninsured women, by enrolling them in the MN Dept of Health SAGE Program which offers free mammograms and cervical cancer screenings to women meeting income guidelines.