WASHINGTON – February 28, 2011 – The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is joining other leading cancer groups this week to urge Congress to oppose severe cuts to groundbreaking cancer research and programs that are expanding access to lifesaving preventive services such as mammograms and colonoscopies.
A House-passed proposal to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year would cut the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget by 5.2 percent and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) budget by 21 percent.
“The proposed cuts would mark a major setback in the fight against cancer,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., chief executive officer of ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. “Past federal investments have put us on the verge of making unprecedented progress in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer, but the promise of recent discoveries may never materialize if funding levels for cancer research and prevention programs are not sustained.”
The One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) coalition, which includes more than 40 national and community-based organizations dedicated to defeating cancer, will be holding a series of meetings with lawmakers Wednesday to emphasize the importance of sustaining the federal commitment to NIH, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the CDC.
OVAC members are calling on Congress to support funding for:
• Cutting-edge research at the NIH, NCI, and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities that holds the promise of producing groundbreaking cancer treatments and ways to expand access to them.
• CDC cancer programs, which provide vital resources for cancer surveillance; breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening programs; and awareness initiatives targeting skin, prostate, ovarian and blood cancers.
• The HRSA Patient Navigator Program, which helps cancer patients navigate the health care system and overcome barriers to health care, and HRSA Title VIII Nursing Programs.
• Efforts at the Food and Drug Administration to further integrate cutting-edge science that will streamline the translation of cancer research from early stage discovery to clinical application.
“People with cancer and their families nationwide are calling on Congress to make cancer a national priority by funding the groundbreaking research projects and lifesaving prevention programs necessary to end suffering and death from the disease,” said Christopher W. Hansen, president of ACS CAN. “If the federal commitment to cutting-edge research and proven prevention programs is allowed to crumble, we will have squandered an unprecedented opportunity to make progress against a disease that kills 1,500 people in America every day.”
An estimated 1.5 million people in America were diagnosed with cancer and 569,000 died from the disease last year.
The organizations that will be represented in meetings on Capitol Hill this week include:
American Academy of Dermatology Association
American Association for Cancer Research
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American College of Surgeons
American Society for Radiation Oncology
American Society of Clinical Oncology
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network
Colorectal Cancer Coalition
International Myeloma Foundation
Men's Health Network
National Coalition for Cancer Research (NCCR)
Nevada Cancer Institute
Oncology Nursing Society
Ovarian Cancer National Alliance
Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Sarcoma Foundation of America
Society of Gynecologic Oncologists
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
