We're celebrating the 40th anniversary of the National Cancer Act, signed into law on December 23, 1971 by President Richard Nixon. Over the past four decades, the law has helped increase cancer research efforts and put a spotlight on cancer issues.
A year after the National Cancer Act was signed, researchers pioneered bone marrow transplants to treat cancer. Seven years later, they figured out how to sequence DNA, allowing them to study the actions of specific genes. Scientists discovered the first breast cancer gene 23 years after the act was signed, and cancer deaths have been declining since the 1990s.
But 570,000 people in America still die from cancer every single year. And we are still searching for a way to eradicate this disease. ThatÈs why we have to make cancer a national priority.
That's where you come in.
We need your help making sure lawmakers continue funding cancer research and prevention programs. Can we rely on you to help us protect funding for cancer research and cancer prevention programs as we look ahead to 2012?
You can pledge to:
With your help, we may one day see a future with no cancer. But it will take all of us to make that happen!
After months of delay and hard negotiations, Congress has finally passed a funding bill! The bill includes a small increase for cancer research and prevention programs.