Daffodil Days is one of ACS' oldest and most beloved fund raisers, it has been around for 30 years. The program stands for the fight against Colo-rectal Cancer, with the fund raising ending in March during Colo-rectal Cancer Awareness Month.
Colo-rectal cancer is the third most common cause of cancer and cancer death in both men and women alike in the US. Currently, about 10% of all cancer diagnoses in the US is colo-rectal cancer.
In 2006, 150,000 people will be diagnoses with colo-rectal cancer and more than 55,000 died. These numbers can be cut in half if Americans will just follow the ACS' screening recommendations. This very thing is one of the things that Daffodil Days is fighting for.
Daffodil Days was created to represent the four fronts of fighting cancer:
Research
Since ACS is the nation's largest non-governmental organization that funds cancer research, they are at the front lines of the most innovative, groundbreaking research going on in the world of cancer research.
ACS researchers have won 38 Nobel prizes and helped save thousands of lives.
Education
ACS prides itself on the cancer prevention and early detection campaigns that reaches millions of people in thousands of communities around the country.
Advocacy
ACS works hard with lawmakers to make sure that cancer funding stays a top priority. They also lobby to make sure that cancer patients continue to get the support they need from insurance companies and other resources. Advocacy is about the quality of treatment for the patients and quality of life for the survivors.
Patient Services
As I have mentioned before, ACS have many programs that are offered to cancer patients and their families. They believe that no one should have to go through it alone.
So, how does Daffodil Days work? It is a three month campaign from January to late March. Everyone is welcome to take part, from grade school kids to business owners. For every donation given a beautiful bunch of daffodils is delivered to the donor in March, making the community a picture of spring.
Why the Daffodil? The daffodil is one of the first flowers of spring and represents hope and renewal. The hope we all have for a world that is one day when cancer is no longer a life-threatening disease.
With every dollar given and beautiful flower delivered, we come closer to finding a cure and continuing the important services that the American Cancer Society has grown to be known for. For more information on this and its many other programs, please visit www.cancer.org .
