Local American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network volunteer and Evansville resident Kim Fredrickson will join more than 100 other cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, physicians and researchers representing over 50 cancer organizations in Washington, D.C., to urge lawmakers to prioritize the fight against cancer.
Advocates are uniting on Tuesday, May 14, as part of the annual One Voice Against Cancer lobby day to ask their legislators to fund cancer research at the National Cancer Institute and National Institutes of Health and cancer prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“As a caregiver, I’m grateful to Congress for the strong bipartisan support it has demonstrated the last several budget cycles for cancer research and prevention funding,” Fredrickson said. “But if we stop now, we risk squandering this national momentum. Research needs steady funding. Without it, potential cures will languish in labs and the significant breakthroughs we’re so close to making will go unfunded.”
Fredrickson will join 15 additional ACS CAN volunteers as well as dozens of volunteers from 25 other cancer organizations to take part in scheduled meetings with members of Congress and their staff. They will be asking Congress to:
- Support a $41.6 billion budget for NIH in fiscal year 2020;
- Support $6.522 billion for NCI; and
- Support $555 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cancer programs, including $70 million for the National Program of Cancer Registries.
“We are at a point where advancements in research are saving more lives than ever, and it’s critical that we keep this momentum going forward,” Fredrickson said. “More than 1.7 million people in America are expected to be diagnosed with cancer this year, and they are depending on research to treat it, potentially saving their lives. I urge Congress to increase funding for cancer research and prevention and to bring us one step closer to bringing an end to cancer.”
Cancer is expected to kill more than 600,000 people in America this year – more than 1,650 today. It has also been projected that 2.1 million people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer by 2030.
This year in Wisconsin, it is estimated that 34,220 people will be diagnosed with cancer, and 11,730 will die from the disease. Federal funding for medical research and cancer prevention programs has had a role in every major advance against this disease. For a full list of the OVAC health care groups joining ACS CAN in this year’s lobby day, visit http://www.ovaconline.org/members.html.
About ACS CAN:
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) is making cancer a top priority for public officials and candidates at the federal, state and local levels. ACS CAN empowers advocates across the country to make their voices heard and influence evidence-based public policy change as well as legislative and regulatory solutions that will reduce the cancer burden. As the American Cancer Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate, ACS CAN is critical to the fight for a world without cancer. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
