American Cancer Society (ACS) is a voluntary health organization dedicated to providing health services to all people in the US. American Cancer Society has its headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia in the US. The organization was founded on May 23, 1913. It is subdivided into eleven geographical divisions covering the whole of the US. Most of the employees working in the organization are the volunteers from both professional fields like the doctors and others from other voluntary teams who include individual people. Initially, the organization was formed and its operations at the time were limited by the fact that the use of the word “cancer” which was negatively viewed placed people in fear and could not access their services. As a result, many people lost their lives under the climate filled with fear since many people could not obtain any assistance from the organization. This paper analyses the financial statements of the ACS.
ASC has been in operation for many years with significant funding coming from the volunteers. The ASC mission statement is to free the world from cancer (Wender et al., 2013). Among its primary objectives is to ensure that people are in a healthy environment that supports them when there is little help from the social environment. ASC also provides patients with information about prevention and treatment of cancer, informing patients on prevention methods and expert information. In addition, the organization is conducting research on ways that would enable proper management of the issues on them. It is the belief of ASC that everyone who contributes to the organization has made a difference in the fight against cancer.
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The organization has corporate partners including the Walmart, Walgreens, and Delta among others. These organizations have a significant role in ASC from their contributions and moral support. Some of the duties that the organization engages are counseling of its patients, informing people on the causing agents so that it would be easier to manage the disease. Moreover, the organization facilitates most of the activities that would lead to cancer treatment and prevention (Smith, Cokkinides, Brooks, Saslow, & Brawley, 2010).
Organization’s financial statements indicate a significant performance, which is because of the awareness and the continued understanding of the importance of the organization. The organization has dedicated huge sum of money for research work in support of cancer treatment and prevention measures. In 2013 and 2014, the organization allocated $203,003 and $211,443 respectively for future studies. Patient support in 2013 was $279,856 while in 2014 was $275,907. The organization has seen to it to it that it does operate better by advancing its operations in the research about the certain ways it can be controlled and managed so that there is a world free of cancer in the future. Furthermore, the ASC organization provides treatment guide for the patients so that they can follow the right treatment ways in their adoption of various ways that would provide treatment for them. While everyone seeks for treatment, in most cases people end up choosing the wrong medical services hence it is the duty of the ASC to advise people and helps them acquire the right medical service (Saslow et al., 2007).
The organization has taken steps towards investing in research since 1969 with the aim of understanding more about cancer so that it would be well placed to inform their patients on the right ways to deal with cancer. In addition, ASC has aimed at assisting the patients in finding better treatments and unraveling what causes cancer among patients. With optimism, the organization intends to find out the reasons for the killer disease so that it would be easier to advise people on what to do so that its objects are avoided altogether. The main reason is that once a person has been infected, it becomes very challenging to tell the symptoms, which renders them riskier and prone to more complications as they advance in life. Hence, the reason for credible research towards knowing what has caused cancer so that it could be avoided as a preventive measure. The organization is focused on implementing some of its activities, which include cancer screening, counseling of people, and guidance on what would be the next steps for those found to have the disease (Saslow et al., 2007).
Trends
The organization is faced with threats arising from other agencies that provide similar services as they do. Therefore, it is challenging the organization to implement its services with the immense pressure from competitors. Since the year 2008, there has been a significant rise in the number of survival rates for those early screened for cancer treatment. According to trends in the US Colorectal cancer (CRC) study, there has also been a drop in the number of deaths attributable to cancer due to early screening which leads to early treatment through polypectomy, and improved treatments (Levin et al., 2008). Cancer deaths have become reduced due to the early detection and treatments; however, the number of screenings that have been reported is very low compared to what should be the case for the better treatment and management of the disease among the people. According to the reports from the ASC organization, most people shun talking about cancer hence is a contributing factor that denies them access to cancer checkups. In the medical sector, trying to providing health service to cancer has generally improved with some areas requiring critical assistance to offer better services to the patients.
Threats
Some of the threats that face the medical providers in the world today are the complications that arise after a considerable time with the drugs. Diseases become resistant to the drugs hence becoming real hatred to the organizations to offer the treatment. In such cases, organizations are forced to invest in more research on further studies about the drugs that have all along been useful. Organizations such as ASC, which depend primarily on well-wishers, will be faced with criticisms on the way it has become challenged to offer reliable treatments (Spellberg et al., 2008). Therefore, it may start to conduct research into ways that would be helpful to its provision.
Opportunities
The ASC has been advantaged to receive advanced technology that has enabled its conduct up to date information concerning the monitoring of the patients. It has emerged that there has been an improvement with technical support conducting regular studies to its provision of services to the people. Therefore, it has occurred that the institution has conducted several studies and with the availability of new technology, advancement in the education sector has been very evident offering necessary credibility that places them on the roadmap for better performance in the future (Smith, Cokkinides, & Brawley, 2009).
With a consistent improvement in the environmental studies that are compatible with the studies of the environmental studies. The study has offered the improved significance on the other various aspects that it offers to the environment. In this way, the society has significant effects on the cancer performance. The ASC provides environmental significance offers that have a positive relation to the society.
Discussion
With the anticipated opportunities and challenges that are in the organization, it would be important to ensure that the organization takes into effect improvements that would signify better health for the people. Healthy living is essential for anyone who needs to ensure good life on his or her part. Healthy ways offer a better chance that would be anticipated be the first utilization of the provided options for people to undertake. Furthermore incorporating right measure in educating and encouraging methods that would see that there are good aspects that would be included in the development (Levine et al., 2010).
Finally, the financial data of ASC indicates that the organization is in the right place while offering proper issues while providing advice to the people of the US nation. Information on data shows the organization's strengths can be seen in the data (Kushi et al., 2012). It is also evident that the organization has the capacity to offer services to the public even with the critical challenges facing it. Some of the methods that the organization provides its services to its public groups can be attributed to continuous studies that come along with the research that is done. Keeping in line with the constant changes to provide services to the people in a proper way remains the ongoing issue that has to be considered. In addition, an organization operating in similar capacity will anticipate challenges and progress.
References
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