How Donations Save Lives & Fight Breast Cancer | Making Strides Against Breast Cancer

The American Cancer Society is putting your dollars to work now - doing the most in every community to help women with cancer today and working tirelessly to find cures to end the disease tomorrow. Since Making Strides began 20 years ago, breast cancer death rates have declined 32 percent.

The progress we're making because of Making Strides supporters is nothing short of remarkable. But it is no time to rest. When more walkers raise money to fight breast cancer, there will be more survivors celebrating more birthdays. So, how does the money you raise help end breast cancer? With your support, we are saving lives by:

Helping People Stay Well

We help people understand what screening tests they need and the steps to take to protect themselves from breast cancer by developing prevention and early detection guidelines that are the industry standard.

Read cancer screening guidelines for the early detection of breast cancer.
Sign up for a free email mammogram reminder to schedule your yearly exam.
Make a commitment to maintain a healthy body weight and engage in regular physical activity to help reduce your breast cancer risk.
Subscribe to our Breast Cancer Update newsletter to read about research and treatment breakthroughs, prevention and early detection tips and guidelines, and inspirational stories.

Helping People Get Well

One in every two women newly diagnosed with breast cancer reaches out to the American Cancer Society for help and support. We are in every community providing free information and services when and where people need it. If you need someone to talk with at 3 a.m. (or any other time of the day or night), we’re here. If your friend is losing her hair because of chemo, your mother needs a ride to treatment, or if a loved one needs a place to stay while in treatment away from home, we are the ones who can help.

Transportation assistance to and from treatment.
Free lodging for those having to travel far for treatment.
Workshops that teach beauty techniques to female cancer patients to help deal with appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment.
Emotional support programs that connect newly diagnosed breast cancer patients with survivors.
Cancer education classes.
An online cancer survivors support network.
Plus, information from a trained Cancer Information Specialist is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling 1-800-227-2345.

Learn more about breast cancer programs.

Finding Cures

The American Cancer Society invests more in research to find, prevent, treat, and cure cancer than any other non-governmental organization. Unlike some organizations that support only breast cancer research, we also fund research to find cures for all types of cancer, because we know that discoveries in one area can often help find answers in another. As a result, we've played a role in nearly every major breast cancer research breakthrough in recent history, including establishing mammography as the standard for breast cancer screening, discovering lifesaving treatments, and better understanding factors that can reduce our risk of getting breast cancer.

Read what's new in breast cancer research

Fighting for All Women

We fight for every woman threatened by every cancer in every community. We know that finding breast cancer early, when it is easiest to treat, can mean the difference between life and death. So, we provide screening guidelines, educate the public and health care professionals, and help ensure access to mammograms for women who need them.

Our nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate - the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network℠ (ACS CAN) - supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. Learn how ACS CAN works hard to keep breast cancer funding a top priority for our nation's lawmakers.