How to use this website
This enhanced website is your "one-stop-shop" for all things related to your volunteer role – a place to get your questions answered, download materials to share with patients and caregivers, read about the latest cancer information, register and participate in trainings, and more! Below are some tips on how to use this website.
Click here to watch a video on how to set up your profile and navigate the website.
Navigate the website by using the menus (tabs) at the top of the website, clicking on sub-topics, or by clicking on any hyperlink (underlined blue text that will take you to a different part of the website or open a document).
Create your User Profile to get started and access all parts of the website.
- Click on "Create User Profile" on the Homepage near the Login information.
- Select your own unique Username and Password, enter in your demographic information and click "Save". You'll only need to do this once, and your information will be remembered each time you log in.
Log in each time you visit.
This allows you to access all parts of the website, and is the only way you can register for live trainings or access recorded trainings. Check the "Remember Me" box the next time you Login so that your computer will automatically remember your Username and Password for you.
Participate in trainings: live, recorded and e-learning.
- Log in to the website.
- Click on the Trainings/Learning menu to enter the Volunteer Learning Center.
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Visit your personal learning page to view the complete training catalogue, or search for trainings by type, program or format.
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Click on the training title of your choice and follow the instructions.
- For live trainings: You'll receive an immediate confirmation email and two reminder emails closer to the training date with the dial-in information and training materials.
- For recorded trainings: You'll be able to download materials and begin listening immediately. Return a feedback form afterwards to receive credit for participating.
- For e-learning trainings: The training will begin immediately on your screen. Submit the electronic feedback afterwards to receive credit for participating.
Get support for your current volunteer role.
Access key tools, documents, videos and tips for your volunteer role, as well as suggestions for program promotion to patients, caregivers and prospective volunteers. Go to the Current Volunteers menu and select your program role to begin exploring the resources available to you.
Discover new volunteer opportunities.
Not sure which program is right for you, or looking for additional volunteer opportunities? Visit the Prospective Volunteers menu to access program videos, position descriptions, and applications. Learn about other opportunities to get involved in Relay For Life, Making Strides Against Breast Cancer, ACS Cancer Action Network, Discovery Shops, galas and more!
Learn about resources to support patients and caregivers.
Go to the Support Resources menu to download support materials, information about service programs, and flyers for upcoming programs to share with the patients and caregivers you serve.
Expand your knowledge about the American Cancer Society.
Learn about key initiatives that support the Society's mission including advocacy and research.
Save www.ACSMissionTraining.org to your favorites.
When the website is saved among your personal computer’s list of favorite websites, you'll be able to easily return.
Make sure your Internet browser is up to date.
If you experience problems creating a User Profile, registering for a training, or viewing the website correctly, please take a moment to update your browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari), as outdated versions impede your ability to use this website. To update your browser, click on the appropriate image below:
For more tips, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Research
The American Cancer Society is committed to leveraging our scientific credibility to support innovative, high impact research -- both through direct funding and the ability influence the amount and direction of research funding from other sources. Watch this video to learn more about the next phase of the Society's research initiative.
Cancer Prevention Study - 3 (CPS-3)
Meet the Researchers
As the nation's largest private, not-for-profit source of funds for scientists studying cancer, the American Cancer Society focuses its funding on investigator-initiated, peer-reviewed proposals. This process ensures that scientists propose projects that they believe are ready to be tackled with the available knowledge and techniques, rather than working on projects designed by administrators who are far removed from the front lines of research. This intellectual freedom encourages discovery in areas that scientists believe are most likely to solve the problems of cancer. Visit www.cancer.org/research to find more information on research grants, accomplishments and milestones, American Cancer Society Nobel Laureates, and the Cancer Prevention Studies.
My Current Hometown and Workplace: San Diego, UCSD
An Interesting Fact About Me: I play the guitar and piano, and I have played in multiple bands.
Implications of My Research: Androgen-independent prostate cancer is an untreatable disease. The purpose of my work is to understand how this disease arises and how it can be stopped.
I selected this field of cancer research because: I study the role of inflammation in cancer. My background is in transcription, and when I came to this lab I was interested in combining my experience with my interest in inflammation.
This work is important to me because: Prostate cancer affects 100,000 men and kills 30,000 each year. My work can hopefully provide clues on how to reduce those numbers.
Most Rewarding Part of My Work: When my research finally answers a question that has been plaguing me for a long while.
My Biggest Challenge: Biological research can be very frustrating, as many experiments fail and many hypotheses are incorrect. It takes time to arrive at the correct answers, yet I can be very impatient.
When facing an impasse in my research, I am motivated to keep going by: The knowledge that through hard work the answer will be found.
My Wish: That my work can have some impact on those suffering with this disease.
What does the American Cancer Society mean to you? An organization dedicated to helping the fight against cancer through patient care and funding research.
Dr. Ruben Petreaca is studying DNA damage repair and replication at the molecular level. Watch and listen to Dr. Petreaca talk about his research.
Why did you choose this area of research? I chose basic science research because I want to look directly at the mechanism within cells to learn why they work and why they don't work.
Implications of my research: Most cancers start at the molecular level with a genetic mutation or deletion in genes required for normal cell proliferation, cellular checkpoints that allow for damage surveillance, DNA replication, or even genes involved in DNA damage repair. We are looking at the balance between living too long and getting cancer. If we can understand how DNA is repaired, we'll be able to prevent the damage from accumulating and leading to cancer.
The most rewarding part of my work: This is very rewarding for me because it's about understanding the principles of life, and it is always interesting.
For Society grantee Patricia Keeley, cancer research is personal. Dr. Keeley is a two-time cancer survivor who is working to determine how breast cancer cells are able to spread throughout the body.
Derek Griffith, PhDDr. Bruce A. Beutler
Dr. Beutler, professor of genetics and immunology at the Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, California, was awarded a two-year American Cancer Society project grant in January 1992 to study TNF synthesis in cancer. Dr. Beutler, along with Jules Hoffmann of Rockafeller University, were awarded the Nobel Prize for their discoveries concerning the activation of innate immunity.Dr. Ralph M. Steinman
Dr. Steinman of Rockafeller University was awarded a one-year American Cancer Society Research Opportunity Grant in 1999 to study dendritic cells and mediated immunization. Dr. Steinman was recognized for his work in the 1970s, when he discovered that a new cell type that he called dendritic cell, which he thought could be important in the immune system. Dr. Steinman died from pancreatic cancer on September 30, just three days before the Nobel Committee's announcement.
Clinical Trials Matching
The American Cancer Society Clinical Trials matching Service is a free, confidential program that helps patients, their families and health care workers find cancer clinical trials most appropriate to a patient's medical and personal situation. Through a partnership with the Coalition of Cancer Cooperative Groups, we can help you find research studies that are testing new drugs or methods to prevent, detect or treat cancer.
Click here to watch a short video on the importance of clinical trials
Cancer Prevention Study - 3
EXTENDED ENROLLMENT! You can join the movement for more birthdays and fight back against cancer by enrolling in a new research study called the Cancer Prevention Study - 3 (CPS-3). The American Cancer Society’s Epidemiology Research Program is inviting men and women between the ages of 30 and 65 years who have no personal history of cancer to join this historic research study. The ultimate goal is to enroll 500,000 adults from various racial/ethnic backgrounds from across the U.S. By joining CPS-3, you can help us understand how to prevent cancer, which will save lives and give people more of their most precious resource: time. More time with their families and friends, more memories, more celebrations...and more birthdays. Click here for more information or click below to watch videos about the study.
CPS-3: How to Create a World With Less Cancer video
American Cancer Society Cancer Prevention Study-3 video
Cancer Facts and Figures
The American Cancer Society tracks cancer occurrence, including the number of deaths, cases, and how long people survive after diagnosis. The Society also tracks data regarding behaviors that influence the risk of developing cancer and the use of screening tests. Listed below are the different types of cancer facts and figures available. Click here to download the data.
The good news in 2011 – statistics point to a steady reduction in overall cancer death rates in the United States, a decline that means nearly 900,000 deaths from cancer were avoided between 1990 and 2007. The bad news – this progress has not benefited all segments of the population equally. Cancer death rates for individuals with the least education are more than twice those of the most educated. Watch a video in which Dr. Otis W. Brawley, MD, FACP, Chief Medical and Scientific Officer, discusses in greater detail these findings and other highlights of the newly released Cancer Facts and Figures.
Legislative Advocacy
Advocacy plays a major role in the American Cancer Society’s fight to eradicate cancer. Many of the most important decisions about cancer are made outside of your doctor’s office. Instead, they are made by your state legislature, in Congress and in the White House. Read on to learn about the results of the California Division's advocacy and how you can get involved. Check back periodically for more updates!
Vote YES on Proposition 29 to raise taxes on cigarettes in California by $1 per pack to fund cancer research, prevent youth from smoking, and save lives. Learn more at californiansforacure.org. How does California measure up?
A majority of states are falling short on legislative solutions to prevent and fight cancer according to ACS CAN's ninth annual progress report on state legislative activity, How Do You Measure Up? The report ranks state policies, offers a blueprint for effective legislation, and also provides a model framework for establishing consumer-friendly state health exchanges and protecting Medicaid programs – a critical lifeline for many cancer patients.
Affordable Care Act Continues to Benefit Families Affected by Cancer
Learn more about the Affordable Care Act from two experts during the presentation: Let's Stop the Misinformation About the Affordable Care Act - Get the Facts, Get Engaged
Date: Tuesday, June 19th
Time: 10am-12pm
Presented by: Joanna Morales, Esq. and Laura E. Nathan, PhD
Where: Teleconference—presented over the phone for your convenience
The American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) have also produced a consumer-friendly guide that describes how provisions of the Affordable Care Act help people with cancer and their families. For more information about the law and tools to make informed decisions about healthcare, visit HealthCareandYou.org.
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN)
Get Involved
No matter how you’re currently involved with the American Cancer Society, you can help advocate for hope by becoming a Legislative Ambassador, or by simply becoming a member of ACS CAN.
Legislative Ambassadors are volunteer leaders who work with American Cancer Society and ACS CAN staff to provide legislative advocacy leadership for local, state, and federal legislation. Your voice - through faxes, emails, phone calls and letters – and your leadership can influence elected officials and get others involved at the grassroots level. Being a California Legislative Ambassador is a wonderful opportunity to lend your voice - and the voice of your community - to the fight against cancer. No previous legislative experience is necessary.
For more information about becoming a Legislative Ambassador, go to acscantraining.org or contact the California Division Government Relations Office at 916-448-0500. To learn more about ACS CAN or to become a member, go to www.acscan.org or call 1-888-NOW-ICAN.
Network News Archives
Browse through Network News for:To register for any of the learning opportunities listed in Network News, or to access recorded and e-learning trainings immediately, visit the Volunteer Learning Center.
