Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support. What ACS services would you recommend and why? Explain how the nursing process is utilized to provide safe and effective care for cancer patients across the life span. Your explanation should include each of the five phases and demonstrate the delivery of holistic and patient-focused care.

Explain how the American Cancer Society (ACS) might provide education and support. What ACS services would you recommend and why? Explain how the nursing process is utilized to provide safe and effective care for cancer patients across the life span. Your explanation should include each of the five phases and demonstrate the delivery of holistic and patient-focused care.

Factors Contributing to Incidence and Mortality Rates

Cancer remains a major public health concern in the United States as well as globally. The disease is the second leading cause of death in America even though many types of cancer can be prevented or treated efficiently if caught early. Almost 5,000 cancer cases are diagnosed each day, which amounts to almost 2 million new cases a year in the U.S. alone (Siegel et al., 2020). Researchers evaluate that by the end of 2020, the cost of cancer care is going to rise to $174 billion. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (2020) reports that “each year in the United States, more than 1.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer, and nearly 600,000 die from it” (para. 1). There are various factors contributing to the incidence and high mortality rates related to cancer. They include preventable risk factors such as smoking (and secondhand smoke exposure), getting too much UV exposure from tanning beds and the sun directly, obesity, and substance abuse.

All of the aforementioned factors increase the likelihood of getting cancer, which is why it is important to discuss them in more detail. Scientists inform that “smoking and secondhand smoke cause about 90% of lung cancer deaths in the United States,” while the government creates health promotion initiatives in order to raise awareness about the effects of tobacco (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, 2020, para. 2). Since skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, it is crucial to inform the public about the impact of overexposure to UV radiation from the sun and tanning beds. Another risk factor worth mentioning is obesity “associated with at least 13 types of cancer, including endometrial (uterine) cancer, breast cancer in postmenopausal women, and colorectal cancer,” which make up 40% of all cancer cases (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention, 2020, para. 8). Medical professionals need to encourage the general population to make healthier choices and give advice regarding most common cancer risk factors in order to minimize the number of those affected by the illness.