ACS CAN CEO John Seffrin, LIVESTRONG Founder Lance Armstrong Reveal New Polling Data Showing Public Opposition to Cutting Cancer Funding
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 24, 2011 – With Congress considering legislation to reduce domestic spending, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) Chief Executive John R. Seffrin and LIVESTRONG Founder and Chairman Lance Armstrong today urged Congress to oppose proposed cuts to cancer research and prevention programs.
At a press conference at the National Press Club, Seffrin and Armstrong called on Congress to sustain federal funding for cancer research and screening programs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
They also revealed new polling data showing that more than three-quarters of the public opposes cutting funding for cancer research (77 percent) and prevention programs (76 percent) as part of the effort to reduce federal spending. Public opposition is strong across party lines – more than 60 percent of Republicans, more than 75 percent of Independents and nearly 90 percent of Democrats are opposed to cuts in cancer funding.
Eight out of 10 respondents overall oppose cutting cancer funding when informed that:
• 40,000 fewer women would get recommended breast and cervical cancer screenings (81 percent)
• Cuts would mean one-third fewer federally-funded cancer clinical trials that are in the last phase of research (81 percent)
• Cuts would mean less research to develop diagnostic tools for the cancers currently lacking accurate screening tests (79 percent)
“Cutting back on groundbreaking cancer research projects and proven cancer screening programs is a short-sighted approach that could prove costly in the long run and set the nation back in our fight against cancer,” said Seffrin, who is also chief executive of the American Cancer Society. “Congress should seize the opportunity to ensure that we do not lose potential discoveries in the research pipeline that could lead to treatments for some of the most deadly cancers.”
“Congress has a tough budget situation on its hands, but cancer affects every person in America,” said Armstrong. “All of us have either faced cancer ourselves or supported a loved one through their fight against the disease. As cancer’s economic and human costs grow, we cannot back away from our commitment to conquer this disease. We hope Congress will recognize that if we reduce our investment now it will cost us far more in the long run in health care costs and lost productivity.”
Joining Seffrin and Armstrong at the event were National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and Tracy Elliman of Kennett Square, PA, a former National Cancer Institute clinical trial participant. Elliman, an ACS CAN volunteer, shared her family’s multigenerational experience with cancer and how they have benefitted from federal investments in research.
The funding bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives for the remainder of FY11 would cut the NIH budget by 5.2 percent and the CDC budget by 21 percent. These cuts would be detrimental to the nation’s fight against cancer and could result in the following:
• One-third of all phase III clinical trials on cancer could be eliminated.
• The National Cancer Institute would fund 60 percent fewer new and competing research grants than it did last year.
• An important study looking at the long-term effects of CT scans on pediatric patients could be curtailed.
• A valuable research program focusing on the relationship between obesity and cancer could be eliminated.
Cuts to the CDC budget would result in fewer people receiving lifesaving cancer screening tests:
• A 10 percent cut to the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program would result in 40,000 fewer underserved women being screened.
• An 11 percent cut to the Colorectal Cancer Control Program could result in 3 out of 25 state screening programs being eliminated.
Nearly 85 percent of federal funding for NIH is spent on research projects at local research facilities across the country. According to NIH, a total of more than $22 billion went to nearly 53,000 research grants in every state and virtually every congressional district across the country last year alone.
Federal funding for medical research and cancer prevention programs has had a role in every major advance against this disease, helping to save 350 more lives from the disease per day than in 1991. Past federal investments have also put the scientific community on the verge of making groundbreaking new discoveries that could accelerate our progress and lead to the prevention of and new treatments for some of the most deadly cancers. Cancer still kills 1,500 people in America per day.
About ACS CAN
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.
About LIVESTRONG/The Lance Armstrong Foundation
LIVESTRONG serves people affected by cancer and empowers them to take action against the world's leading cause of death. Created as the Lance Armstrong Foundation in 1997 by cancer survivor and champion cyclist Lance Armstrong, the organization is now known publicly by its powerful brand - LIVESTRONG - and is a leader in the global movement on behalf of 28 million people around the world living with cancer today. Known for its iconic yellow wristband, LIVESTRONG has become a symbol of hope and inspiration to people affected by cancer around the world. Since its inception, the organization has raised more than $400 million for the fight against cancer. LIVESTRONG.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Steven Weiss or Alissa Havens
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: 202-661-5711 or 202-661-5772
E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]
