The short answer
The American Cancer Society began in 1913, when cancer was rarely discussed in public and usually meant a fatal diagnosis. Over more than a century it built public education campaigns, a large volunteer network, and a major research funding program, and today it runs signature fundraising events such as Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. This page covers that history alongside a separate, practical resources page. It does not cover treatment decisions.
The American Cancer Society was founded in 1913 by 10 doctors and 5 laypeople in New York City, originally named the American Society for the Control of Cancer.
Its early strategy was public education — writing articles for popular magazines and professional journals and publishing regular Campaign Notes at a time when cancer was rarely discussed publicly.
The Society's well-known Sword of Hope logo came from a 1928 poster contest, created by George E. Durant.
The Society reports about 15,000 people active in cancer control in 1935 and about 10 times that by the end of 1938, through the Women's Field Army.
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This page is for anyone curious about where the American Cancer Society came from. It walks through its history, from its start in 1913 to the events people know today, and what it can and cannot do for a patient.
Founded when cancer was a word people avoided
The American Cancer Society says it began in 1913. Ten doctors and five other people met in New York City to start it. At first it had a different name: the American Society for the Control of Cancer.
Back then, people rarely talked about cancer in public. Most people believed a diagnosis meant death. There was little real information for a patient or a family to read.
That gap is what the founders tackled first. Before research grants or big fundraising walks, the group did one main thing. They wrote. They wrote for popular magazines. They wrote for medical journals. They put out regular updates called Campaign Notes. The goal was simple: make good information easy to find.
A logo born from a public contest
Some of the group's most famous imagery came later, and from an outsider. In 1928, the Society ran a public contest for a new symbol. George E. Durant, a contest entrant from Brooklyn, won with a design called the Sword of Hope.
The Society says Durant chose the sword to express the crusading spirit of the cancer control movement.
Building an army of volunteers
By the mid-1930s, a small staff could not reach enough people alone. So the Society built a much bigger volunteer group: the Women's Field Army.
The results were fast. The Society reports that active volunteers grew from about 15,000 in 1935 to roughly 150,000 by 1938. That is about ten times as many people in four years. This volunteer base became a model the Society has kept building on ever since, in different forms.
From education to funding research
In 1946, the Society's work changed again. Philanthropist Mary Lasker and her colleagues helped raise more than $4 million. The Society says $1 million of that money was used to establish its research program.
Before 1946, the group mostly taught the public about cancer. After 1946, it also started paying for science. Both jobs have continued side by side ever since.
The events people recognize today
Most people today know the Society through its events, not its history. Relay For Life is one of its best-known grassroots fundraisers. It is built on local, community-based events.
Making Strides Against Breast Cancer is the Society's signature breast cancer walk. It runs in cities across the country. The Society also runs other fundraising programs. Check cancer.org for what is offered near you.
What the Society can do for a patient or family today
The Society can point to more than a century of public education and research funding. It can connect a patient or family to national programs and to local events, whether the goal is community, awareness, or simply raising money for a cause that matters to them. It also stands as a public reminder that cancer is not something to hide, an idea its founders pushed from the very start.
What the Society cannot do
The Society does not diagnose or treat cancer. It does not choose a patient's treatment plan. Those choices stay with a patient and their own doctors.
Being large and long-running does not mean every program is in every town. Local events and volunteer numbers differ by community. A donation supports the Society's broader mission, but it is not a stand-in for a hospital's own financial help or for a direct talk with your care team about costs.
This page also does not cover the Society's day-to-day support services in detail. For its helpline, rides, and free lodging programs, see our separate American Cancer Society resources page.
Why the history is still useful
The Society started as ten doctors and five laypeople writing magazine articles. That was decades before it ran research grants or national walks. Big organizations often start small and narrow like this.
The Society's own history frames its work as one long thread: education first, then volunteers, then research funding, then today's big fundraising events. For a patient meeting the Society for the first time, that history is mostly useful as context. It explains why "the American Cancer Society" can mean different things depending on which part of its work you are looking at.
Common questions
When was the American Cancer Society founded, and by whom?
The American Cancer Society says it was founded in 1913 by 10 doctors and 5 laypeople in New York City, under the original name American Society for the Control of Cancer.
Why was the organization originally called something different?
It began as the American Society for the Control of Cancer. The current name and framing reflect a broader mission that grew over time to cover research, patient support, and advocacy, not only public education about controlling the disease.
What did the founders actually do in the early years?
The Society describes its founders and early colleagues writing articles for popular magazines and professional journals and publishing Campaign Notes, aiming to spread accurate information about cancer at a time when the disease was rarely discussed openly and was often assumed to be a death sentence.
What is the Sword of Hope?
It is the Society's long-standing logo, created by George E. Durant of Brooklyn after a 1928 public contest. It is described as expressing the crusading spirit of the cancer control movement.
How did the Society grow its volunteer base?
The Women's Field Army, active in the 1930s, is a major example. The Society reports that active participants in cancer control grew from about 15,000 in 1935 to roughly 150,000 by 1938, largely through this volunteer effort.
When did the Society start funding research, and how?
In 1946, philanthropist Mary Lasker and her colleagues helped raise more than $4 million, $1 million of which the Society says was used to establish its research program — a turn from education alone toward directly funding science.
What are the Society's most famous fundraising events today?
Relay For Life and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer are two of the Society's best-known fundraising events. Check cancer.org for events near you.
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Sources last checked: 2026-09-07 what this meansLast updated: 2026-10-02Next planned review: 2027-09-07
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Cancer Explained does not originate medical claims. Every page restates guidance already published by the National Cancer Institute, the CDC, the USPSTF and the FDA, in plain language, with the source cited so you can check the original yourself. AI does the translating and organizing; automated checks test claims, citations, clarity and safety before anything publishes, and this is translation and navigation, not clinical judgment. Nothing here is personal medical advice, and no page can account for your particular situation.
Editorial status: Editorial review complete — This page completed Cancer Explained's editorial checks (sources, safety, plain language, duplication). It has not been reviewed by a physician or other healthcare professional.
Human medical review: not completed. Pages here are not signed off by a clinician before they publish. That is not an oversight we are quietly working around: we restate published guidance and cite it, so the authority belongs to the source rather than to us, and every page names where its claims come from — you can verify us instead of trusting us. Where a volunteer clinician has reviewed a page, their name and credentials appear on it; where no name appears, no clinician has checked it. We are glad to have reviewers and are recruiting them, and we do not hold pages back waiting for one. Use this site to understand your situation and to ask better questions of the people treating you.
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