Senator Blunt, Representative Cleaver Honored for Leadership in Cancer Fight

‘Congressional Champion Award’ Presented by Jerry Neville of Springfield during ‘One Voice against Cancer’ Lobby Day in Washington, D.C.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – May 11, 2016 — Sen. Roy Blunt and Congressman Emanuel Cleaver were recently presented the 2016 Congressional Champion Award by the One Voice Against Cancer (OVAC) Coalition, in recognition of their lifelong leadership in the fight against cancer and their unwavering support for cancer research and prevention funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The annual award is given by OVAC, a coalition of national and community-based organizations that represent researchers, physicians, patients and families and many others – people working together to make funding for cancer research and prevention programs a national priority. The Congressional Cancer Champion Award is an honor OVAC bestows on federal lawmakers who undertake extraordinary efforts to enact legislation that advances the nation’s fight against cancer.

“Senator Blunt and Congressman Cleaver have been champions of cancer research and prevention efforts for the people of Missouri,” said Stacy Reliford, Missouri government relations director for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN). “With their unwavering commitments to sustained funding for cancer research and prevention, they have both demonstrated strong leadership in prioritizing the fight to eliminate death and suffering from a disease that still kills 1,630 people in America each day.”

Jerry Neville of Springfield presented the award to Sen. Blunt and Congressman Cleaver on May 10, as part of the OVAC Lobby Day in Washington, D.C. Neville is a three-time cancer survivor and volunteer leader for ACS CAN, which is part of the OVAC coalition. Neville joined other cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, physicians and researchers from 50 other organizations in Washington, D.C., this week to urge lawmakers to support funding for critical cancer research and prevention programs at the NIH, National Cancer Institute (NCI), CDC and other federal agencies.  A total of 140 advocates from 35 states united as part of the event in the nation’s capital.

“As a cancer survivor, I know that past investment in cancer research has given us the tools to detect some cancers early and in some cases to prevent it altogether,” Neville said. “But sustained investment in cancer research and prevention is imperative to help make progress for cancers where we still don’t have answers.”

Now in its 17th year, the OVAC Lobby Day took place May 9-10 with nearly 150 scheduled meetings with members of Congress and their staff. Advocates called on Congress to support the goals of the National Cancer Moonshot initiative in order to capitalize on promising new research and maintain momentum in ongoing discoveries.

According to the American Cancer Society, it is estimated that this year more than 1.6 million people in America will be diagnosed with cancer and more than 595,000 people will die from the disease this year. In Missouri, it is estimated that 34,270 people will be diagnosed and 12,970 will die from cancer this year.

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