This coming year, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Commission on Cancer (CoC) will observe its 100th Anniversary. The yearlong campaign will celebrate this important milestone, honor the dedication and leadership of those who have helped to build and shape the CoC, and identify new opportunities to improve the care of the patient with cancer.
“Over the past century, the organizations and individuals represented in the CoC have consistently and tirelessly advanced the quality and standards of cancer care,” said CoC Chair Timothy Mullett, MD, FACS. “As a result, today there are more than 1,500 CoC-accredited cancer programs in the United States and Puerto Rico, treating more than 70 percent of patients with cancer in this country.”
Established by the ACS in 1922, the CoC is a consortium of professional organizations, dedicated to improving survival and quality of life for cancer patients through standard-setting, prevention, research, education, and the monitoring of comprehensive quality care. CoC membership is composed of more than 100 individuals who either are surgeons representing the ACS or representatives from the 60 national professional organizations affiliated with the CoC.
“Since 1922, the CoC has been setting standards and accrediting cancer programs to ensure the provision of high-quality cancer care,” said ACS Cancer Programs Medical Director Heidi Nelson, MD, FACS. “While we celebrate the CoC’s proud 100-year history of excellence in the coming year, we also will continue to focus on new, innovative, evidence-based approaches for developing compassionate, standardized care that is coordinated to treat the whole patient.”
Throughout the year, the CoC will feature special 100th Anniversary content in the Cancer Programs News weekly newsletter, on ACS Cancer Programs social media channels, and on the new 100th Anniversary website. Anniversary coverage will include video interviews with past and present CoC leadership, historical articles and photos, profiles of long-running accredited programs and member organizations, reviews of medical journal articles that highlight the importance of National Cancer Database data, and bylined articles on topics of interest to the cancer care community. In addition, the January 2022 issue of the Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons will be dedicated to the CoC’s 100th Anniversary.
