In 1913, an organization called the American Society for the Control of Cancer (ASCC) was established in New York City “by ten physicians and five laymen” (Philpott). Cancer was rarely discussed in public at this time in history; “information concerning this illness was cloaked in a climate of fear and denial” (American Cancer Society: History). Thus began the ASCC’s journey to raise public awareness about cancer. To do this, “they wrote articles for popular magazines and professional journals, published a monthly bulletin of cancer information, and recruited doctors to help educate the public” (Our History). This organization would later become known as the American Cancer Society (ACS) in 1945.
The now-iconic Sword of Hope symbol was first