Apr 4, 2006 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

Cancer is an expensive disease to treat and research, costing nearly $200 billion annually. But through grassroots organizations and the American Cancer Society (ACS), the bill is offset each year by the generosity of Americans and the power of private funding and donations.

And, according to one area ACS coordinator, the money and time donated is helping to save lives across the country.

“The progress that has happened through research and through greater awareness is an understanding that cancer is not a death sentence any more. Once your first thought was I am going to die, but now there is so much out there to help and a lot of survivors out there too,” Nancy Verderber said.

The community involvement specialist who has worked for the ACS for 18 years, said what began as a group of concerned physicians six decades ago has turned into a community-oriented movement that is a powerful tool in combating the disease.

“We are the leading source of reliable information about cancer,” Verderber said. “We want to eliminate it as a major problem, but we are also here for the patients and for there loved ones.”

According to the ACS, through projects like Relay for Life, which raises more than $1 billion toward the fight against cancer each year, and other programs like The Great American Smoke Out, which encourages people to quit smoking.

With more than 2 million volunteers, the ACS has grown into a formidable force in the battle to defeat the disease, after being founded in 1945.

And the ACS has also taken the lead in cancer research, spending hundreds of millions annually and funding 38 Nobel Prize winners during the society’s 61 years.

“The message that we are trying to get out to everybody is that if you do hear those words, ‘I have cancer,’ don’t ignore it because you don’t want to know, go get started,” Verderber said. “While not every cancer is cured, the quality of life is better now and the response to side effects have been successfully eliminated and reduced.”

Verderber said there are a lot of programs for patients in Fayette County, noting that people and supplies and support groups speckle the region to help patients through.

She said one program, the Recovery Program, allows breast cancer patients to talk to someone who had breast cancer.

Another is called the Road to Recovery, which utilizes volunteer drivers to transport patients to and from treatments. Verderber said it is one area program where she needs more volunteers to help cover the need.

Still another program, the Look Good Feel Better program, is a self-esteem program to help patients cope with hair loss and other side effects of cancer treatment.

“We want people to realize that while we are a national organization and our roots are in the community,” Verderber said. “We do raise a lot of money but we are also something patients can call on when they need something.”

Verderber said there are a few thousand ACS volunteers across the county and added that every volunteer makes a difference in educating the public about the disease.

If Fayette County alone, Verderber said the Relay for Life fundraiser in 2005 garnered $194,000 for ACS and even smaller, single-day fundraisers, like the ACS daffodil sale, raised $26,000.

“We spent decades trying to get the number of deaths to go down, so when they finally did there was a lot of celebrating. The word has really gotten out about early detection and it is working. Yes there are still bad outcomes and people who still pass away from this disease,” Verderber said. “But there is a lot of good living going on out there.”

Verderber said anyone seeking further information about cancer or the society can call 1-800-ACS-2345.