Please also see our Internet Privacy Policy
Our Commitment to Privacy
We are committed to protecting your privacy throughout the organization. This notice supplements
our Online Privacy Statement and describes our practices for safeguarding personal information
about the individuals who contact us by various means. We take great care to properly handle
information about you.
How We Collect Your Information
National Cancer Information Center
Data Collection
When you call our National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345, our call center
Cancer Information Specialists gather the following information from you: name, address, phone
number and contact preferences (“Contact Information”). They also ask you whether you would like
to receive information about the Society including information about making voluntary time and
monetary contributions to the Society. If you call seeking patient-related cancer information, our
Cancer Information Specialists ask for the type of cancer, date of diagnosis, stage, treatments, and
date of treatments (“Health Related Information”). This information enables our Cancer Information
Specialists to better assist you. All information you provide is voluntary. Information provided to us
by healthcare entities (such as physician groups or hospitals) through the National Cancer
Information Center is treated as set forth under “Healthcare Entities” below.
Data Use
We limit the use of the information you provide to us to the following:
- If you provide Contact Information, we enter your name into our constituent database and contact
you in order to:
- Supply you with information including cancer related health news, Society programs and
events.
- Request voluntary time or monetary contributions to the Society.
- Seek completion of voluntary surveys seeking feedback for quality and service
improvement purposes.
- We may make your postal Contact Information available to other reputable nonprofit organizations
on a limited basis in exchange for limited access to the names and addresses of their constituents.
We have found this to be the most cost effective method of reaching additional potential constituents
and hope that you value the information they send you. Your name is only made available to these carefully screened organizations through third-party mailing agents for a limited use. Other organizations
will not have continued access to your name and address unless you choose to respond to their
initial mailing. We do not share email addresses or Health Related Information.
- We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf. We only provide
those companies the information they need to deliver the service and we prohibit them from using
that information for any other purpose.
- We have relationships with companies that conduct charitable sales promotions that support the
Society. If you provide us with your mailing address, we may make your postal Contact Information
available to these companies on a limited basis through third-party mailing agents for a limited time
or use so that they may ask you if you are interested in receiving their services. Your choice to use
their services will benefit us. If you have provided us with Health-Related Information, your name will
not be made available to third parties without your consent. The amount of money we receive from
these entities as a result of your participation is disclosed at the time you are contacted about the
service.
- Aside from the above, we may disclose Contact Information we collect about you to third parties
with your consent or at your direction.
If you did not provide your address in your initial contact with our Cancer Information Specialists
or you indicated that you did not want to receive information about the Society and have recently
changed your mind, e-mail privacyrequest@cancer.org or call our National Cancer Information
Center at 1-800-ACS-2345.
For details on how you may restrict the manner in which you are contacted, access to your
information and data security, see the section titled “Your Rights.”
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Counseling Programs (Quitline, Patient Navigator)
Data Collection
Through our counseling programs, we collect Contact Information about you. In order to be
effective in our continued service to you, we must also collect Health Related Information related to
your request.
Data Use
If you contact our counseling programs directly, your Contact Information and Health Related
Information is entered into our central database, but only the counselors will have access to your
Health Related Information. None of the information you provide, including your Contact Information,
will be used by other departments within the Society or made available to anyone external to the
Society except in strict compliance with state and federal privacy laws. The Society will not contact you outside of the counseling relationship. If you are enrolled in
a counseling program and would like to learn more about other Society programs and services,
e-mail privacyrequest@cancer.org or call our National Cancer Information Center at 1-800-ACS-2345.
If you contact our counseling programs through the National Cancer Information Center and
choose to receive information about the Society, we use the information you provided us consistent
with the Data Use section of the National Cancer Information Center. The section titled Your Options
under the National Cancer Information Center explains how you may indicate whether you would like
to be contacted by us and by what means.
For details on how you may restrict the manner in which you are contacted, access to your
information and data security, see the section titled “Your Rights.”
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Healthcare Entities
Data Collection
The American Cancer Society receives Health Related Information from hospitals, health
systems and physician groups that enables our organization to provide services to cancer patients.
Participants in Reach to Recovery®, for example, are often identified through the American Cancer
Society’s hospital and physician relationships. The Federal Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act places certain restrictions on the release of Health Related Information by
"covered entities" such as hospitals and physician groups. In the context of the privacy regulations
Health Related Information is also referred to as “Protected Health Information.”
Hospitals, health systems and physicians are permitted by the privacy regulation to disclose Health
Related Information to the American Cancer Society. This information can be disclosed to the Society
in either of two ways. 1) Health Related Information can be disclosed to the Society without
permission of a patient when it is treatment related (i.e., Reach to Recovery®,
Man to Man®); or
2) PHI can be disclosed with verbal permission by the constituent or their family (even for arguably
non-treatment related services like transportation and Hope Lodge®) if a hospital or physician first
explains the Society's services, asks if the constituent wants to have the American Cancer Society
involved, and the constituent agrees or does not object.
In either case it is Society policy that the physician or hospital should disclose no more than the
minimum amount of Contact Information and Health Related Information necessary for the Society to
provide its service. In all instances, if the information is received by the Society from a covered entity
the Society may only use the information to provide services to the patient and educate the patient
about the other services we offer. It is possible that we have received your name from a
non-healthcare related source (such as a list we acquired or because you have chosen to make a
contribution in the past) so in spite of this policy, you may receive communications from us about the
Society. Should you wish to no longer receive this information, contact us as provided in “Your
Options” below.
Data Use
Your information is currently restricted for limited use and you are not able to receive information
about other programs, events, volunteer opportunities, etc. at ACS. Should you like to receive this
information, please contact us in any of the following ways: call the National Cancer Information
Center (1-800-ACS-2345), send an email to privacyrequest@cancer.org, or register online. If you
are receiving information because you are on our mailing list prior to receiving a service from one of
our programs and wish to remove your name, you may inform us now by clicking on Opt Out or in
writing at:
Security and Privacy Requests
The American Cancer Society National Cancer Information Center
11701 Stonehollow Drive
Austin, TX 78758
For details on your options, access to your information and data security, please see the section
titled “Your Rights.”
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Research
The Society’s research department conducts studies to investigate the causes of cancer, ways
to improve detection and prevention of cancer, and issues faced by cancer survivors.
Data Collection
The individuals who enroll in Society research department studies are called “Society research
study participants.” The Society uses the information provided by these participants for research
purposes only. Research participant data are maintained in secure, isolated databases. These
data are highly protected and can only be accessed for research purposes.
Data Use
Society research studies follow the federal guidelines set by the Office of Human Research
Protections of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Some studies have additional
limitations as required by institutional review boards or cancer registries. Study results do not reveal
any identifying information about participants.
If your only contact with the Society has been for research purposes, we do not send you
information about our organization that may be of interest to you. If you would like to be included in
such communications, please call us at 1-800-ACS-2345 or write us at:
Security and Privacy Requests
The American Cancer Society National Cancer Information Center
11701 Stonehollow Drive
Austin, TX 78758
Data Security
Research participant data are maintained in separate, secure databases. Electronic research
data are maintained in password-protected computer files. All employees sign confidentiality
agreements that emphasize the need to guarantee research participants’ privacy.
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Other
If your initial contact with the Society is by a means not explained elsewhere in our Online Privacy
Statement or Offline Privacy Statement, such as participating in a fundraising event or a Society
program, sending in a donation, or volunteering at a local event, the Contact Information you provided
to us is handled as follows:
Data Collection
In addition to information that you provide to us, we sometimes obtain additional information that is publicly available. This may include standard Contact Information, such as your name, phone number, and address. Other information depends on the activity. For vehicle donations to the Society's Cars for a Cure®, for example, we obtain information about the vehicle.
For memorial contributions or contributions honoring an individual, we ask that you provide
Contact Information of the person to whom you would like a personalized gift card sent. The
information we collect is used to send the gift card and for informing the recipient of other Society
programs and services and for no other purposes.
Data Use
We do not share your Health Related Information outside of the organization, and access to this
information is limited within the organization. We limit the use of the information you provide to us to
the following:
- If you provide Contact Information, we enter your name into our constituent database and contact
you in order to:
- Supply you with information including cancer related health news, Society programs
and events.
- Request voluntary time or monetary contributions to the Society.
- Seek completion of voluntary surveys seeking feedback for quality and service
improvement purposes.
- We may make your postal Contact Information available to other reputable non-profit organizations
on a limited basis in exchange for limited access to the names and addresses of their constituents.
We have found this to be the most cost effective method of reaching additional potential constituents
and hope that you value the information they send you. Your name is only made available to these carefully screened organizations through third-party mailing agents for a limited use. Other organizations
will not have continued access to your name and address unless you choose to respond to their
mailing. We do not share email addresses or Health Related Information.
- We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf. We only provide
those companies the information they need to deliver the service and we prohibit them from using
that information for any other purpose.
- We have relationships with companies that conduct charitable sales promotions that support the
Society. If you provide us with your Contact Information, we may make your postal Contact Information
available to them on a limited basis through third-party mailing agents for a limited time or use so that
they may ask you if you are interested in receiving their services. Your choice to use their services will
benefit us. If you have provided us with Health Related Information your name will not be made
available to third parties without your consent. The amount of money we receive from these entities
as a result of your participation is disclosed at the time you are contacted about the service.
- We may disclose information we collect about you to third parties with your consent or at your
direction.
For details on how you may restrict the manner in which you are contacted, access to your
information and data security, please see the section titled “Your Rights.”
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Your Rights
Your Options
We recognize that you may wish to limit the ways in which we contact you so we provide the
following options for restricting internal and external sharing of your Contact Information:
- Do not contact me by telephone.
- Do not contact me by postal mail.
- Do not contact me by email.
- Do not share my Contact Information with other organizations.
- Do not contact me for fundraising purposes.
- Limit your contact with me to semi-annual mailings only.
- Do not contact me or share my information with anyone.
We do not share your Health Related Information outside of the Society and use of this
information is limited within the Society. For more information on how you may notify us of any
desired restrictions, click on the following link: Opt Out. If you do not wish to opt out at this time, you
may do so at a later date.
If you are not currently receiving information from the Society and would like to, please click on
Opt In to indicate your preferences.
Access
Upon request, we will provide you with the Contact Information that we maintain about you. The
description will be sent via postal mail which we believe is the most secure method of
communication. Further, we will respond to requests for updates or changes to your personal
information. Contact us by email at privacyrequest@cancer.org
or in writing at:
Security and Privacy Requests
The American Cancer Society National Cancer Information Center
11701 Stonehollow Drive
Austin, TX 78758
To protect your privacy and security, we will take reasonable steps to
verify your identity before providing information or making corrections.
Data Security
To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of
information, we strive to maintain physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards. Your data is
stored in password-controlled servers where our staff is located. Personal health-related data can
only be accessed by designated Society employees. Our staff is educated about the importance of
safeguarding your information and are bound by a confidentiality agreement.
Contact Us
We welcome feedback and questions on this privacy statement. If for any reason you wish to
contact us, send an e-mail to privacyrequest@cancer.org
or write to:
Security and Privacy Requests
The American Cancer Society National Cancer Information Center
11701 Stonehollow Drive
Austin, TX 78758
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