Cancer affects everyone but not equally. Many barriers can impact a child’s ability to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer, with racism and discrimination making it even more difficult to address social determinants of health. A child’s quality of life and cancer outcomes can be determined by their ZIP code, education, income, access to health care and healthy and affordable foods, and other variables outside their control. These barriers are deeply rooted, long-standing inequities at all levels of society that will take an intentional effort to address for equitable cancer outcomes.

To ACS, and its non-profit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, the ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN℠), health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to prevent, detect, treat, and survive cancer, especially children in northeast Indiana.