Brittany is 12 years old. She has been fighting cancer since being diagnosed last November and still has a year and a half of therapy to go. And, unfortunately, Brittany is not the only one. More than 15,000 children under age 19 will be diagnosed with cancer this year. While survival rates have improved, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death by disease for kids. Those who do survive often must endure debilitating side effects - during treatment and later in their life. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, a month dedicated to honoring youth who have battled cancer and highlighting the work that needs to be done to prevent and treat cancer,said ACS CAN President Chris Hansen in his recent Cancer CANdor blog post. Congress has a significant role to play in addressing these critical areas of need. ThatÈs why ACS CAN is working with our partner groups to pass legislation that will aid in the development of new treatments and improve the quality of life for kids not only while they receive cancer treatments, but throughout the rest of their lives, Chris Hansen writes. ACS CAN, together with our partners, is deeply involved in the fight against childhood cancer. Our recent work includes:
To be successful in ending childhood cancer, we need your help. Become part of our One Degree campaign at onedegreeproject.org and make your voice heard in the fight against cancer. Also, please join our email list so you can be the first to hear about an exciting new quality of life campaign, which launches next month. Together, and only together, we can beat this disease.
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.