Last State of the Union an Opportunity to Leave a Legacy of Less Cancer

WASHINGTON January 12, 2016 Cancer advocates will gather across the country tonight to watch President Obama lay out his legislative agenda during his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. Families affected by cancer are hoping the president will voice his commitment to increased research funding for the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and urge Congress to quickly pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, which includes a provision supported by public health groups that would protect the authority of member countries to enact lifesaving tobacco control measures. A statement from American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network President Chris Hansen follows: As he begins his last year in office, the president has an opportunity to build on a legacy of improved public health by further reducing the cancer burden throughŒæ investment in prevention, early detection tests and treatments. Building on the significant funding increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and NCI that garnered overwhelming bipartisan support in the FY 2016 omnibus the Œæpresident should make the strong case for sustained and dependable funding for cancer research to enable continued development of screening tests and treatments that address the disease on a molecular level. We are all #OneDegree from cancer whether we know a relative, coworker, friend, or have been diagnosed ourselves. Robust and predictable funding will provide hope for the nearly 1.7 million Americans who will be diagnosed with cancer this year. Furthermore, the president can have tremendous impact on reducing the global tobacco burden by urging Congress to swiftly pass the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.Œæ This agreement takes an historic step by prohibiting tobacco companies from using the trade agreement to attack laws in their countries that are intended to reduce disease and death caused by tobacco use. Tobacco use is responsible for approximately 6 million deaths per year globally, and an estimated 1 billion people worldwide will die from tobacco use this century without significant action to reduce tobacco use. Reducing death and suffering from cancer depends both on consistent and strong investment in research that can lead to the discovery of lifesaving treatments and application of proven prevention including strong tobacco control. ACS CAN volunteers stand ready to urge Congress to follow through on a presidential commitment to reduce the cancer burden in this country. 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 Crispino Phone: 202-661-5772 E-mail: [email protected] #acscan #cancer #SOTU #NIH #NCI #TPP