American Cancer Society
Mission Statement and More.........
by Elliot Yudenfriend who cured himself of lymphoma,
considered incurable by orthodox medicine
Copyright Notice
Every year when I see the "Relay For Life" going on, I get on my soapbox about the American Cancer Society. It frustrates me greatly that so many people who have no idea what the ACS is really about go out and do their best to raise money for an organization that is in fact about suppressing any real cures for cancer, and about suppressing evidence about how to really prevent cancer, and about supporting the NCI and the AMA, so that those organizations, as well as the ACS, can go on amassing money and power.
There has been someone on an alternative prostate board asking people to donate to the ACS on his behalf, as he has been asked to work for the "Relay For Life" in his area subsequent to a surgeon being kind enough to remove his prostate immediately after he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
I posted a message to the gentleman asking for ACS contributions, and another person replied to me as follows:
"I've been following the discussion on the American Cancer Society closely because, for many years, I also felt that the ACS has not done a darn thing to help cancer victims.
However, as far as Prostate Cancer is concerned they have put their power and money behind us. They actively support the Man to Man program throughout the United States, supplying postage, speakers, publicity and lots of help.
They also have a program of training people to help and work with the wives of men who have passed away from prostate cancer.
Give the devil its due.
If you want to scream at anyone, try the medical societies.
Isn't it strange that in all these years, not one cure for any cancer has been found?
Why should the drug firms find a cure?
They would have to stop selling their products.
Only one man's opinion. X"
I then replied to him the following:
Hi, X.
First of all, with regard to "screaming" at "medical societies," the ACS works hand-in-glove with the American Medical Societies and with the Big Drug Companies. There IS NO DIVISION between the three. Also, be careful of your facts. Mainstream Medicine has in fact been able to cure several cancers, even though the people they cure may suffer secondary cancers, heart problems and other serious illnesses BECAUSE of the treatment they get. Hodgkin's disease is curable using chemotherapy. One form of testicular cancer is considered curable using mainstream methods, and apparently acute lymphocytic leukemia may be curable. But in general, yes, Mainstream Medicine has failed miserably in its efforts to make cancer a curable dis-ease.
BUT AGAIN, X, AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN---THE WAY TO CURE CANCER IS NOT NOT NOT TO KEEP RESEARCHING CURES! THE WAY TO CURE CANCER IS TO FIND OUT WHAT REALLY CAUSES IT AND TO PREVENT IT FROM HAPPENING!
THAT IS WHERE THE ACS, THE AMERICAN MEDICAL SOCIETY AND THE GOVERMENT HAVE CONSISTENTLY DRAGGED THEIR HEELS AND COVERED UP THE EVIDENCE!
It almost sounds like you are saying to give the American Cancer Society a break. Let's look at several things, and let's know that I am not "screaming" at them, just pointing out some things to anyone naive enough to think they are worthy of giving money to:
First, here is the ACS's Mission Statement, verbatim:
"Mission Statement:
The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives from cancer and diminishing suffering from cancer through Research, Education and Service."
Next, here are a couple of paragraphs taken from the Brigham Young Dana Farber web page. I have CAPITALIZED the "good" parts:
"What is Cancer?
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by either the runaway growth of cells or the failure of cells to die normally. Often, cancer cells spread to distant parts of the body, where they can form new tumors. Cancer can arise in any organ of the body AND STRIKES ONE OF EVERY TWO AMERICAN MEN AND ONE OF EVERY THREE AMERICAN WOMEN AT SOME POINT IN THEIR LIVES.
EACH YEAR, NEARLY 1.4 MILLION NEW CASES OF CANCER ARE DIAGNOSED IN THE UNITED STATES, A FIGURE THAT DOES NOT INCLUDE THE 900,000 CASES OF SKIN CANCER DIAGNOSED ANNUALLY. CANCER IS THE SECOND LEADING CAUSE OF DEATH (after heart disease) IN THE UNITED STATES, ACCOUNTING FOR 560,000 DEATHS EVERY YEAR."
Finally, here is a brief history of the American Cancer Society, again with significant portions in CAPITAL LETTERS. Please note that the organization was called "The American Society For The Control Of Cancer" when it first began. I suppose that as greed, avarice, hunger for power and money set in, the name changed to just, the big, fat, do-nothing name, "The American Cancer Society." Here we go:
"The American Cancer Society was founded in 1913 as the American Society for the Control of Cancer (ASCC) THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY WAS FOUNDED IN 1913 AS THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR THE CONTROL OF CANCER by fifteen prominent physicians and business leaders in New York City. It was one of the most remarkable moments in the history of public health.
In those early days, cancer was rarely mentioned in public. The disease was steeped in a climate of fear and denial. CANCER CLAIMED 75,000 LIVES A YEAR IN THE U.S. ALONE. The Society's founders knew they had to bring cancer out of the closet if progress was to be made. The number of doctors, nurses, patients and family members who had to be reached was overwhelming. Despite the enormity of their task, the founders and their colleagues set about writing articles for popular magazines and professional journals, publishing Campaign Notes, a monthly bulletin of cancer information, and recruiting physicians throughout the country to help educate the public.
In 1936 Marjorie G. Illig, an ASCC field representative and chair of the General Federation of Women's Clubs Committee on Public Health, made an extraordinary suggestion. She proposed creating a legion of new volunteers whose sole purpose was to wage war on cancer. The Women's Field Army, as this organization came to be called, was an enormous success. Its recruits donned khaki uniforms, complete with insignia of rank and achievement, and went out into the streets to raise money and help educate the public. Clarence Little, the ASCC's managing director at the time, wrote that "In 1935 there were fifteen thousand people active in cancer control throughout the United States. At the close of 1938, there were ten times that number." More than anything else, it was the Women's Field Army that moved the Society to the forefront of voluntary health organizations.
IN 1945, THE ASCC WAS REORGANIZED AS THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY. It was the beginning of a new era for the organization and, in many ways, for the country as a whole. World War II was over, the single greatest threat to modern democracy had been defeated, and the nation could at last focus its attention on the enemy at home. Many believed it was time for another bold move. In 1946 Mary Lasker and her colleagues met this challenge, helping to raise over $4 million dollars for the Society--$1 million of which was used to establish and fund the Society's research program. With the aid and assistance of dedicated volunteers like Lasker and Elmer Bobst, the Society's research program quickly began to bear fruit. In 1947 the American Cancer Society also began its public education campaign about the signs and symptoms of cancer. They were termed 'Cancer's Danger Signals'. The original 7 danger signals were:
1. Any sore that does not heal.
2. A lump or thickening in the breast or elsewhere.
3. Unusual bleeding or discharge.
4. Any change in wart or mole.
5. Persistent indigestion or difficult swallowing.
6. Persistent hoarseness or cough.
7. Any change in normal bowel habits.
Ten years later, the order was rearranged putting the "unusual bleeding or discharge" in the first place. The signals were retitled and reworded slightly through the years, until the wording was changed in 1969 to the acronym CAUTION. The first letter of each sentence was lined up to spell CAUTION.
Change in bowel or bladder habits.
A sore that does not heal.
Unusual bleeding or discharge.
Thickening or lump in the breast or elsewhere.
Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing.
Obvious change in wart or mole.
Nagging cough or hoarseness.
The warning signals remained as above until their use was discontinued in the early 1980s.
AROUND THE SAME TIME THE CANCER SIGNALS CAMPAIGN BEGAN, DR. SIDNEY FARBER, ONE OF THE SOCIETY'S FIRST RESEARCH GRANTEES, HAD ACHIEVED THE FIRST TEMPORARY CANCER REMISSION USING THE DRUG AMINOPTERIN, THUS BEGINNING THE MODERN DAY ERA OF CHEMOTHERAPY FOR CANCER TREATMENT.
OVER THE YEARS, SCIENTISTS SUPPORTED BY THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY HAVE ESTABLISHED THE LINK BETWEEN CANCER AND SMOKING, DEMONSTRATED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE PAP SMEAR, DEVELOPED CANCER FIGHTING DRUGS AND BIOLOGICAL RESPONSE MODIFIERS SUCH AS INTERFERON, DRAMATICALLY INCREASED THE CURE RATE FOR CHILDHOOD LEUKEMIA, PROVED THE SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF MAMMOGRAPHY, AND MUCH, MUCH MORE. All told, the Society has committed nearly $2.2 billion to research, funding 30 Nobel Prize winners, often early in their careers before they had received recognition and monetary support for their work. (For a listing of accomplishments, refer to the American Cancer Society Accomplishments 1946 - 1999.)
Another historical point of interest is the use of the sword as a symbol for the American Cancer Society. The sword had its origin in a nationwide poster contest in 1928 sponsored by the national society, then called American Society for the Control of Cancer, and the local division, the New York City Cancer Committee. George E. Durant of Brooklyn won the contest, receiving a first prize of $500. He explained that he selected the sword to express the crusading spirit of the cancer control movement. The twin-serpent caduceus, forming the hilt, emphasizes the medical and scientific nature of the Society's program. Classically, twined serpents represent healing of the sick and creativity of the healthy. Since 1928, the American Cancer Society has used the sword as its symbol AS IT CONTINUES TO CHAMPION THE CAUSES OF CANCER PREVENTION, ELIMINATING SUFFERING FROM CANCER AND SAVING LIVES."
Okay, now, back to the ACS Mission Statement:
"The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives from cancer and diminishing suffering from cancer through Research, Education and Service."
The population of this country is now about 294,000,000, some three times what it was in 1913 when the ACS began. Meanwhile the number of people diagnosed with cancer each year has gone up TEN times since then. Today, ONE out of every TWO men and [ONE] out of every THREE women can expect to be diagnosed with cancer at some time in their lives! Even given the better diagnostics of today, those statistics since the ACS was begun in 1913 are astounding.
There is so much more I could say, but I do not have much time. All I can say is, OPEN UP YOUR EYES TO WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON!
For instance, in the paragraphs above, please notice that a Dr. Farber is mentioned prominently by the ACS as having to do with the first chemotherapy drug to bring a remission. Note also that the biggest and best-known bone marrow transplant hospital is CALLED "Dana Farber" Hospital. Is there a connection? You bet there is!
The ACS is dug in so deeply with Mainstream Medicine and with the Big Drug Companies that they will NEVER accomplish their mission.
Here is the ACS Mission Statement one last time:
"The American Cancer Society is the nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by preventing cancer, saving lives from cancer and diminishing suffering from cancer through Research, Education and Service."
They have HARDLY eliminated cancer in the 91 YEARS they have been in existence.
They have done almost NOTHING to prevent cancer. They have masqueraded EARLY DETECTION as "prevention." Why? Because NOBODY MAKES ANY MONEY from prevention!
Given their attitude, their tactics and their politics, it is safe to say that there have probably been more lives LOST by the ACS than saved.
And diminishing SUFFERING? Suffering Succotash! By suppressing gentle, non-toxic alternative treatments, and by suppressing what will truly prevent cancer, the ACS is responsible for TREMENDOUSLY MORE suffering than it has ever prevented. Mainstream treatment for cancer is ALL ABOUT suffering!
To sum up---the ACS, which may have been started with good intentions, is today INDISTINGUISHABLE from the two groups from which it is INSEPARABLE---the American Medical Society and Big Drug Companies. Anyone seriously interested in alternative medicine, in effective treatment of cancer and in prevention of cancer will have nothing to do with the organization. Certainly they will not give them one penny in contributions.
Compare History of Alternative Cancer Treatment: The American Cancer Society, On Drugs, On Cancer Business, On Cancer Research (partic. the comments on the public fundraising appeals to "help find a cancer cure", such as the yearly US Postal Service's release of a new "Fund the Cure" breast cancer stamp to help fund breast cancer research) and On Avoidable Suffering.
A Reader's comment: "A huge, huge thank you for the article that I just finished reading validating my not trusting the American Cancer Society! THANK YOU!
I have been involved with Relay For Life for about 7 years now, the past two being the chair for my region's event. But this year my heart was not in it as I have been researching ACS's legitimate cause, which it surely isn't. Now when folks ask why I am not participating, I can have proof! Thank you again! L. B."
Yes, thank you, L., and thank you particularly, Elliot, for writing this eye-opening article. Let's hope more and more good-hearted but misled people will see the light and not support organisations like the ACS...
http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/american-cancer-societymission.html
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