Cancer Awareness Month: Empowering Through Knowledge and Support

The health care-related posts we publish in this column are meant to connect readers with the work we do every day to support our local, state, and federal government agency clients who provide health and human services programs to some of the nation’s most fragile individuals. Whether it’s seniors, kids, underserved people, or those with disabilities, our goal in sharing these observations is to educate and empower.

Each month of the year is home to a range of health care observances, including different kinds of cancer. October has long been known as the month for breast cancer awareness. Liver cancer shares this month.

Because there are so many kinds of cancer – and so many people in the fight of their lives against it – we at Myers and Stauffer want to recognize them all and raise awareness more broadly, because knowledge is power. That’s why we are making October Cancer Awareness Month for our readers.

Cancer observations and the groups that sponsor them educate and create opportunities for people with cancer to connect them to the help, support, programs, and resources available. These observations help these individuals set their own priorities, make their own choices, and forge their own paths forward…armed with as much information as possible.

What the Numbers Show

As the National Cancer Institute (NCI) says:

“Cancer statistics describe what happens in large groups of people and provide a picture in time of the burden of cancer on society.”

The numbers tell us how many people are living with cancer, how many are diagnosed each year, the types of cancer, survival rates, and mortality rates, and outline differences among age, race, geographic, and other cohorts.

The NCI also stated that:

“… in 2025, an estimated 2,041,910 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 618,120 people will die from the disease. As of January 2022, there were an estimated 18.1 million cancer survivors in the United States. The number of cancer survivors is projected to increase to 26 million by 2040.”

The numbers are compelling, and the infographic provides even more statistics, including the number of cancer patients covered by Medicaid and the challenges of cancer care in rural areas.

The same article emphasizes the importance of these figures in discerning trends, tracking changes over time, and helping “… governments, policy makers, health professionals, and researchers to understand the impact of cancer on the population and to develop strategies to address the challenges that cancer poses to the society at large. Statistical trends are also important for measuring the success of efforts to control and manage cancer.”

The Cancer Burden on Society: Trends

Research indicates that cancer incidences and/or outcomes are often functions of or are influenced by social determinants of health (SDoH). Effectively, different groups – based on demographics such as gender, race, income, environment, education, and urban versus rural – can have differing experiences with the health care system (health care disparity) that can lead to poorer outcomes.

National Cancer Institute, in its article on Rural Cancer Control, reveals troubling information about those living in rural areas, saying:

“Rural communities in the United States continue to face significant disadvantages compared to urban areas, including higher poverty rates, lower educational attainment, and more limited access to health services. Populations living in rural areas experience higher average cancer death rates for all cancer types combined, compared to those in urban counties. This difference is particularly evident for cancers associated with smoking, such as lung and laryngeal cancers, and cancers that can be prevented through screening, like colorectal and cervical cancers.”

The same article points continues, saying:

“Barriers to accessing health services in rural areas, such as transportation challenges, fewer healthcare facilities, and financial obstacles (e.g., insufficient insurance coverage), contribute significantly to these higher incidence and mortality rates. Research continues to show that these differences are exacerbated by lifestyle and behavioral differences between rural and urban populations, including higher rates of tobacco use, obesity, and alcohol consumption, alongside lower levels of physical activity and lower HPV vaccination rates in rural areas. Addressing these challenges is critical to reducing cancer risk, incidence, and mortality.”

As we told you about in a recent post, rural health care is in focus right now. On July 4, 2025, the President signed the House of Representatives budget reconciliation bill H.R. 1 titled “An Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res.14,” formerly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill.

Section 71401 of this bill establishes the Rural Health Transformation Program – a federal relief program under which states can access additional funding for rural health programs. Under this program, $10 billion is appropriated annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for five years (federal fiscal years 2026 through 2030) to provide allotments to states that apply for the funding.

That’s good news for rural providers, which have long been on the radar for legislators who are concerned for the financial health and stability of these vital centers. Even amidst other potentially negative effects of the same legislation, this program bodes well for our rural citizens facing cancer.

Myers and Stauffer will continue monitoring federal guidance and state implementation of the Rural Health Transformation Program. We are available to assist states with application development, transformation planning, financial modeling, program implementation, and compliance monitoring. For more information, reach out to one of our subject matter experts below.

Myers and Stauffer

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How We Can Help: Contract Review, and Compliance Oversight: Our Clinics program covers a range of services, disciplines, and areas of focus. We are here to answer any questions and help with any health care and human services needs your agency may have. Contact a member of our team today.