WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 12, 2010 – Members of the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services are scheduled to hear public testimony today on the need for increased and sustained funding of medical research. Wanda Burns, a nurse from Niles, Ohio and an American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) volunteer, will join a select group of witnesses from across to country to share the experience of her sister-in-law, Cyndi, who benefited from clinical trials supported by funding from National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Cancer Institute (NCI).
In 2004, Cyndi was diagnosed with ovarian cancer that had metastasized to her colon and liver. Doctors gave her only 18 months to live. But enrollment in several clinical trials at the Cleveland Clinic offered Cyndi treatment that prolonged her life.
“Advances in treatment gave Cyndi five additional years of life and enabled her to see her only son marry,” Burns said. “But too many families affected by cancer are still waiting for the development of screening tools and treatments for types of cancer where we don’t currently have answers.”
There are 11 million cancer survivors in this country today because of past investments in medical research. However, 1,500 people still die from cancer in America each day because there are not effective tools for the deadliest cancers, such as pancreatic and ovarian cancer, that can detect the disease early and treat it effectively.
“New screening tools and treatments won’t see the light of day if we halt our progress,” said John R. Seffrin, PhD, chief executive officer of ACS CAN, the advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society. “To reach our goal to end all death and suffering related to cancer we must commit to making consistent funding a priority for a disease that affects far too many Americans.”
Each year, 1.4 million people in America are told they have cancer, and 560,000 people die from the disease. To ensure that new, innovative projects begun with the help of funding in last year’s economic stimulus bill are not short-circuited, it is critical for Congress to make funding for cancer research a top national priority.
ACS CAN is calling on Congress to boost funding for NIH to $35 billion and $5.8 billion for NCI to sustain research funding at levels provided last year in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
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.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Alissa Havens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5772 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
