Aflac's Cancer Fight Wins Top Award Amid Screening Crisis

COLUMBUS, GA – April 23, 2026 – The American Cancer Society (ACS) has named Aflac Incorporated its 2025 Corporate Partner of the Year, an honor that recognizes the insurance giant's profound commitment to combating cancer. The award highlights a partnership that extends far beyond financial contributions, embedding advocacy and public health initiatives into the company's core identity at a time when a national health crisis of delayed cancer screenings looms large.

The annual recognition, accepted by Aflac U.S. President Virgil Miller in Atlanta, is reserved for a company demonstrating exceptional partnership in advancing the ACS's mission through fundraising, education, and advocacy.

"Aflac exemplifies what is possible when a corporate partner fully aligns its purpose, leadership and resources with our mission," said Shane Jacobson, Chief Executive Officer of the American Cancer Society. "Through a multimillion–dollar commitment and hands–on leadership engagement, Aflac has set a gold standard for corporate leadership in the fight against cancer... We are honored to recognize Aflac as our 2025 Corporate Partner of the Year and grateful for the measurable, lasting impact this partnership continues to deliver."

A Gold Standard in Corporate Partnership

The ACS award acknowledges a multiyear, multimillion-dollar commitment Aflac initiated in 2025, but the company's roots in cancer-related philanthropy run much deeper. For decades, Aflac has been a stalwart supporter of cancer causes, most notably contributing nearly $200 million since 1995 to the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. This latest recognition from the ACS underscores a strategic evolution of that commitment, broadening its scope to tackle national public health challenges.

The Corporate Partner of the Year award is not granted for financial support alone. It signifies a holistic integration of a partner's resources. Aflac's engagement includes significant fundraising, comprehensive educational initiatives, promotion of workplace wellness, and vigorous national advocacy. This is further exemplified by the hands-on involvement of its leadership; Virgil Miller, who accepted the award, also serves as the chair of the Georgia ACS CEOs Against Cancer chapter, demonstrating a top-down dedication to the cause.

"As a leading provider of cancer insurance in the United States, we see firsthand how families are impacted physically, emotionally and financially by cancer every year, which makes this prestigious recognition from the American Cancer Society even more gratifying," Miller stated. This intimate understanding of cancer's toll fuels a partnership that the ACS has hailed as a benchmark for corporate America.

Confronting a National Health Crisis

The Aflac-ACS partnership is set against a troubling backdrop: a pervasive and dangerous trend of delayed preventative healthcare. According to the 2025 Aflac Wellness Matters Survey®, a staggering 90% of Americans have postponed health checkups and screenings that could be lifesaving. This statistic is not an outlier. Independent data from the Prevent Cancer Foundation's 2026 survey found that 73% of adults are behind on at least one routine cancer screening, while other reports show a significant drop in routine medical appointments since 2024.

Experts point to a confluence of factors driving this crisis. Fear of a bad diagnosis, concerns over cost—despite many screenings being covered by insurance—and the sheer inconvenience of scheduling appointments around work and family obligations create powerful barriers. For younger generations, a distrust of the medical system can also play a role. The consequences of these delays are stark. For many cancers, early detection is the single most important factor in determining survival. Stage 1 breast cancer, for instance, has a five-year survival rate of 99%, a number that plummets as the disease progresses undetected.

This is the critical public health challenge that Aflac and the ACS are directly confronting. Their joint efforts aim to dismantle these barriers through education and awareness, emphasizing that early detection dramatically increases the chances of survival and can lead to less invasive treatment options.

The 'Check for Cancer' Movement

Rather than simply funding research, Aflac has taken a proactive role in changing public behavior with its innovative "Check for Cancer" movement. Launched in 2025, the national campaign is a creative and ambitious effort to turn the ubiquitous checkered pattern—seen on clothing, furniture, and more—into a powerful, everyday visual reminder to schedule necessary cancer screenings.

The campaign's goal is audacious: to help increase U.S. cancer screening rates by 10% over the next decade. To achieve this, Aflac is deploying an omnichannel strategy that includes traditional billboards and media, grassroots community events, and a strong digital presence designed to engage younger, social-first audiences. As part of the initiative, the company pledged to donate up to $1 million to childhood cancer research and care, fueled by social media engagement with the #CheckForCancer hashtag.

This movement represents a tangible activation of the partnership's goals, transforming a corporate initiative into a widespread public health call to action and striving to make preventative care a part of the national conversation.

More Than a Mission: A Strategic Imperative

For Aflac, the fight against cancer is not only a philanthropic endeavor but also a strategic imperative that is seamlessly woven into its business model and corporate identity. As the nation's leading provider of supplemental health and cancer insurance, the company's advocacy for prevention and early detection directly aligns with its mission to provide financial protection and peace of mind to policyholders when they need it most.

This synergy between social good and business strategy has built Aflac an ironclad reputation. The company has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere for 20 consecutive years—the only insurer to hold that record. It has also been on Fortune's list of the World's Most Admired Companies for 25 years, ranking high on social responsibility and investment value.

This commitment extends to its investment philosophy, having become a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) in 2021, further integrating its ESG goals into its financial strategy. The American Cancer Society's award, therefore, is more than a recognition of a single year's efforts; it is an affirmation of a long-term, deeply embedded corporate ethos where doing good for the community is inextricably linked to doing good business.