WASHINGTON, D.C. -- September 14, 2012 -- Following is a statement from Christopher W. Hansen, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the White House report issued today on the impact of mandated budget cuts that are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1:
"This report confirms what the public health community has long known -- that mandatory budget cuts to domestic programs set to take effect Jan. 1 would deprive medical research and disease prevention programs of critical federal dollars needed to fight life-threatening diseases such as cancer.
"Congress must take action to avert these cuts and protect our nation's ability to prevent and save lives from cancer. The National Institutes of Health, which spends more than 80 percent of its research dollars in communities nationwide, is facing an estimated $2.5 billion cut in 2013. Cancer research could be cut by $400 million or more. Unless Congress acts, research labs could be forced to lay off staff, scale back research, and terminate clinical trials. The promise of recent discoveries might never become a reality for people with cancer and their families.
"Women's access to breast and cervical cancer screening would also be hindered if mandatory budget cuts take effect. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would take an 8.2 percent cut on Jan. 1. If the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program took a comparable cut, nearly 50,000 fewer low-income, uninsured and underinsured women would be screened for cancer next year.
"ACS CAN brought nearly 600 cancer patients, survivors and their loved ones to Capitol Hill this week to urge lawmakers to protect federal funding for cancer research and prevention. They and the nearly 14 million cancer survivors nationwide can't afford for Congress to roll back the fight against cancer."
ACS CAN is the non-profit, non-partisan advocacy affiliate organization of the American Cancer Society, which is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage lawmakers, candidates and government officials to support laws and policies that will make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.