The budget agreement would restore more than $22 billion that was cut through the across-the-board reductions known as the budget sequester. This agreement is an important first step toward seeing Congress return to a constructive process of setting budget priorities.
Dr. Laura Witherspoon is an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer from Tennessee. Below is her account of her participation in the One Voice Against Cancer lobby day on July 9.
Together with the cancer center, ACS CAN hosted a briefing for state legislators and community and business leaders to showcase the groundbreaking research researchers are conducting at Hollings and the people who are alive because of it.
Undoubtedly you saw the countdowns on your local news stations sequestration took effect on Friday. Sequestration is what Washington is calling the $85 billion in across-the-board budget cuts to domestic and defense discretionary spending agreed upon in the 2011 Budget Control Act. While a lot remains unknown about how the cuts will affect us, we know one thing is for sure: funding for cancer research and prevention programs is taking a dangerous hit.
I was pleased to hear President Obama mention the need to invest in science and innovation in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Cancer patients and survivors nationwide need a renewed commitment from Congress and the administration to fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute at levels that keep up with inflation and allow promising research to continue.
To illustrate just how crucial federal funding is for cancer research, ACS CAN released a new report this week, Catalyst for Cures: How Federally Funded Cancer Research Saves Lives. This report underscores the threat posed by sequestration to future progress in the fight to end death and suffering from cancer by highlighting federally-funded scientists who have discovered new ways to treat specific cancers, including breast cancer, melanoma and lung cancer and the patients who benefited from those advances.
Breast cancer awareness month is about reminding those we love about the importance of getting recommended screenings to prevent breast cancer. But it's also a time to remember that unfortunately, mammograms are not accessible and affordable to all women.