“In 2011, about 571,950 Americans are expected to die of cancer, more than 1,500 people a day.” – American Cancer Society

Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and accounted for 7.6 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2008. Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue to rise to over 11 million in 2030. (Source: World Health Organization)

Over the past two months, Philanthropedia surveyed 46 experts working in the field of cancer (with an average of 16 years of work experience in the field) to identify those organizations that were making the biggest positive impact in the field.

Philanthropedia’s experts (funders, researchers, nonprofit senior staff, veterinaries, etc.) identified 16 top nonprofits (out of 73 total reviewed nonprofits) making an impact at the national level. Below is a graphical representation of who participated in our research. You can also see who our experts were by clicking here.

We asked experts to recommend up to three nonprofits that are having a high-impact on a specific disease in the disease they had the most knowledge about, and up to three nonprofits that aren’t disease focused so that associations, research organizations, and general care giving associations can also be recommended. For the specific disease focus, we focused on inviting experts who had expertise in lung, breast, and colorectal cancer, because they are the three types of cancer that are the leading cause of death in the U.S. Specifically excluded were for-profit organizations and government agencies.

The following is the list of the top-recommended high-impact nonprofits working in the field of cancer at the national level. “Agree” is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field. “Disagree” is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the field.

We invite you to visit the profiles of each of these top organizations on our website to read the expert reviews here. Experts commented on the impact each nonprofit has had, what the nonprofit’s other organizational strengths are, and how each organization could further improve.

We will be highlighting the top 5 high-impact national nonprofits working in the field of cancer through our blog and Twitter, so stay posted.

We also invite your feedback. Please tell us what you think and what experiences you’ve had with these great organizations! You can reach Dawn Kwan, Manager of Philanthropedia Research at dkwan@guidestar.org.