National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) Supports Adoption of National Call to...

National Patient Advocate Foundation (NPAF) Supports Adoption of National Call
to Action on Cancer Prevention and Survivorship

Plan Unveiled Today by Four Former U.S. Surgeons General and Lance Armstrong
Foundation

Recommends New Strategies for All Americans to Make Cancer Prevention and
Survivorship a Priority; Over 1.4 Million Americans Diagnosed with Cancer
Yearly

WASHINGTON, July 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Patient Advocate
Foundation (NPAF) expressed support today for the National Call to Action on
Cancer Prevention and Survivorship issued by the nation's four most recent
Surgeons General -- Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H.; David Satcher, M.D.,
Ph.D.; Joycelyn Elders, M.D., M.S.; and Antonia C. Novello, M.D., M.P.H.,
Dr.Ph. -- in conjunction with the cancer prevention and survivorship community
as organized by Lance Armstrong and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF). The
National Call to Action outlines a battle plan for the new war on cancer and
the steps that Americans can take to reduce the risk of developing cancer and
improve screening, early detection, treatment, and survivorship.

"NPAF wholeheartedly supports this new action plan for better preventing and
surviving cancer in our nation, most particularly through its recommendation
that system stakeholders work together to provide all-important financial,
emotional and medical support for all cancer patients in need," said NPAF
Founder and CEO, Nancy Davenport-Ennis. "NPAF's companion organization, the
Patient Advocate Foundation, has helped thousands of cancer patients across
the U.S. access resources to help overcome barriers to care, medical debt
crises and employment issues threatening their livelihoods; we look forward to
the enactment of the goals outlined in the National Call to Action and offer
our complete support in making these important recommendations a reality."

More than 1.4 million Americans are diagnosed with cancer each year, and
cancer is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 85.
Cancers that can be prevented or detected early account for at least half of
all new cases.

Specifically, the blueprint unveiled today at the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C., calls for:

-- Empowering healthy lifestyles through improved information about and access
to healthy foods, physical activity and tobacco prevention and cessation
programs;

-- Applying what is known about cancer screening and early detection to all
people by advancing screening technologies and ensuring all people receive
recommended screenings;

-- Ensuring all people can navigate through the health care system by
developing and offering innovative and culturally competent patient navigator
tools equipped to meet the needs of all cancer patients; and

-- Providing survivorship care plans and systems of support for all cancer
survivors through programs offering psychological services, legal and
regulatory protections, financial assistance programs, pain and palliative
care services, and hospice and end-of-life care.

"We at NPAF applaud the Lance Armstrong Foundation's gathering of some the
nation's foremost health care experts - the U.S. Surgeons General - in this
collaborative plan to help relieve the health, societal and economic burdens
that cancer places on our nation," said Davenport Ennis. "We hope the National
Call to Action will help draw much-needed attention to the need for a greater
emphasis on practical preventive solutions and greater support for patients -
ultimately, saving lives, saving money and improving the quality of life for
the estimated 12 million Americans now living with cancer."

The Lance Armstrong Foundation collaborates with several organizations --
including the Patient Advocate Foundation -- to deliver the LIVESTRONG
SurvivorCare program to help survivors face the everyday physical, emotional
and practical challenges of cancer through education, qualified referrals and
counseling services.

About the National Patient Advocate Foundation

National Patient Advocate Foundation is a national non-profit organization
providing the patient voice in improving access to, and reimbursement for,
high-quality healthcare through regulatory and legislative reform at the state
and federal levels, translating the experience of millions of patients who
have been helped by our companion organization, Patient Advocate Foundation.
For more information, visit www.npaf.org.

SOURCE National Patient Advocate Foundation

Jenn Lawson of the National Patient Advocate Foundation, +1-703-548-0019