About 12 million people per year receive a new cancer diagnoses worldwide, with more than 1.4 million of them in the United States. Of these U.S. cases, 600,000 will prove fatal. The American Cancer Society leads the fight against these diseases. The society operates more than 3,400 local offices committed to fundraising, research, education, patient service, advocacy and rehabilitation. The nonprofit’s battle is waged by nearly 9,000 staff members along with a legion of 3 million volunteers. Headquarters is in Atlanta and last year the organization took in “just under $1 billion,” according to Chief Counsel Sheffield Hale. Since its inception, the society has committed more than $3.3 billion to cancer research.
The seeds of the voluntary health organization were sown in 1913 by 15 prominent New York doctors and business leaders. They called their organization the American Society for the Control of Cancer. The goal was to raise public awareness of what was then a stigmatized and poorly understood disease. The group reorganized as the American Cancer Society in 1945.
