{"id":22863,"date":"2021-12-23T11:00:31","date_gmt":"2021-12-23T16:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/?p=22863"},"modified":"2023-06-29T16:30:45","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T20:30:45","slug":"telling-the-national-cancer-story-nearly-50-years-of-the-seer-program","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/circulatingnow.nlm.nih.gov\/2021\/12\/23\/telling-the-national-cancer-story-nearly-50-years-of-the-seer-program\/","title":{"rendered":"Telling the National Cancer Story: Nearly 50 Years of the SEER Program"},"content":{"rendered":"

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) is commemorating the <\/em>50th anniversary of the National Cancer Act<\/em><\/a> of 1971<\/em>. Its passage created programs like the <\/em>Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program<\/em><\/a>, which provides robust statistical data to help reduce the burden of cancer among the U.S. population. In this guest post, NCI takes a look at the historical roots of the Act and the impact of data from the SEER program.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The National Cancer Act of 1971<\/a> opened the door to 50 years of progress<\/a> in cancer research. Prior to its passage, some research on cancer prevention and control had been conducted and there were efforts to educate the public about scientific findings. Films like \u201cThe Reward of Courage<\/a>,\u201d produced by the American Society for the Control of Cancer in 1921, encouraged people to visit the doctor at the first sign of disease, pushing for early screening and clarifying that cancer is neither contagious nor hereditary.<\/p>\n