At the American Cancer Society, we have a vision to end cancer as we know it, for everyone. We're improving the lives of cancer patients and their families through advocacy, research, and patient support to ensure that everyone has an opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer. 

What does it take to outsmart cancer? Research. The American Cancer Society is the largest nonprofit funder of cancer research in the United States outside of the federal government. We've invested more than $5 billion in cancer research since 1946, all to find more – and better – treatments, uncover factors that may cause cancer, and improve cancer patients' quality of life.  

Research informs prevention, patient support, advocacy and health equity efforts. The investigations we conduct and fund happen through several different channels and extend beyond our agency into over 200 institutions nationwide. In all facets of our work, we strive to expand our efforts to understand and overcome health disparities – in the laboratory, through population and surveillance studies, and within the communities we serve. 

Right now, the American Cancer Society is funding nearly 700 high impact and innovative extramural research grants totaling over $54 million looking at cancer from bench to bedside. This includes $9.6 million in 17 grants right here in the state of Washington. To maximize our impact, ACS has established six priority research areas to advance our mission: etiology or causes of cancer, obesity/healthy eating, active living, diagnosis and screening, treatment, survivorship, and health equity across the continuum. These grants improve our knowledge of nearly every aspect of cancer – from what causes it to how we can end it.