In my time in Washington, D.C., I have learned that even the most influential organizations are more powerful when they are a part of something larger. ACS CAN is fortunate to be a member of the largest coalition of national cancer advocacy groups in the country, One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC). It began in 2000 as a working group and has grown into an effective lobbying coalition that represents millions of cancer patients and their families across the country. The mission of OVAC is simple to call on Congress and the White House to increase funds for cancer research and prevention programs. The professional government relations staff of each of the 38 organizations meets to strategize monthly and we host an annual Lobby Day in the spring with hundreds of volunteers from each group. Yesterday, representatives from OVAC were on Capitol Hill talking to lawmakers about the need to make cancer a national priority as the supercommittee sets the spending agenda for the next decade. With the power of many, we hope to show members of Congress that a disease that kills more than a half a million Americans each year should be priority No. 1.
Mariah Forster Olson, an ACS CAN Ambassador Constituent Team Lead (ACT Lead), traveled to Washington, D.C. this week to share her story as a childhood cancer survivor and to advocate on behalf of other patients and survivors during the 2019 Childhood Cancer Action Days.